


Sheep In Wolf's Clothing

by ImBadAtNamingThings



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Crossdressing, F/F, F/M, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Lady!Amity, Misogyny, Nonbinary Character, Realistic, knight!Luz, no magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29077095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImBadAtNamingThings/pseuds/ImBadAtNamingThings
Summary: Luz Noceda is a commoner. The daughter of an unsuccessful apothecary and a foot soldier, and she's realized somethinghorrifyingabout herself.She likes girls.Most specifically, Lady Amity Blight, daughter of The Right Honorable Lord and Lady Blight.That wasn't gonna fly in her slice of society, even if she were a man.If she were a man.Now, that's a good idea.
Relationships: Amity Blight & Edric Blight & Emira Blight & Luz Noceda, Amity Blight & Luz Noceda & Willow Park, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne/Camila Noceda, Edric Blight & Luz Noceda
Comments: 171
Kudos: 359





	1. Chapter 1

“Luz, cariño! Wake up!”

Luz groaned as she slowly rolled herself out of the cot. It had been incredibly comfortable, yet her mother had to wake her up. She’d have rather let God take her then and there in that cot.

But unfortunately, her mother had other plans destined for her.

Such plans included, but were not limited to weeding the garden, fixing that  _ damned _ fence again, and feeding the dog… wolf… whatever the hell King was. She also needed to head to market to get groceries for her mother, again.

It worried Luz to no end that her poor mother had to avoid exertion more and more frequently of late. If she was sick… well it was better not to think about that. Luz hoped it was just old age catching its way up to her dear old mami.

She  _ was _ almost fifty now, after all. She was bound to lose her vim and vigor sooner or later, it was just a simple matter of time.

That didn’t stop her from worrying as her mother stretched painfully in the doorway, rubbing her lumbar where she had fallen on it the day prior.

“You got that, cariño?” Luz nodded as she made to stand from her sitting position on the cot. She stretched her arms over her head, causing an avalanche of crackles and pops to cascade down her back.

“Yes, mami. I got it.” Camila nodded and made her way over to the langild, situated in the center of their humble cottage. She lit the wood there, placing a small pot onto the fire.

“We’re running low on beans, dear. Can you get them from the market too?” Luz nodded as she dug into their clothing chest, pulling out a town dress to wear. Dresses only succeeded in making her uncomfortable, and itchy, but there was nothing she could do, as being seen in anything else would have her labeled ‘an oddity’. 

Luz finally decided on an ankle-length kirtle, throwing it on over a thin smock. The kirtle had a large split in the middle, allowing for greater freedom of movement. The kirtle and smock were a simple white and tan, as they couldn’t afford to spend so lavishly on dyes.

Once she had her clothes taken care of, Luz rushed over to the shoe rack, grabbing her boots off the small wooden structure. Luz stopped her bustle for a moment to tie her boots to her feet, the worn leather pressed comfortably to her feet, the poor things had been through their fair share of wear and tear.

Once both her shoes were tied, Luz jumped to her feet, rushing back over to the hearth to place a kiss to her mother’s forehead.

“¡Adiós mami, te quiero!” Camila patted Luz’s cheek as the young woman sped out of the house.

The smell of the outdoors hit her like a wall, the odor of the dew on the early morning grass, combined with the muggy heat of the overbearing summer sun, made her feel lightheaded. It was stifling, almost suffocating.

Still, she smiled and took a deep whiff. For today was a new day, and with God as her witness, she would make each day better than the last.

King was lazing along the treeline, soaking up the shade and reprieve that the shadows brought. He perked up once he heard Luz approaching and, leaping to his feet, he bounded over to the young woman, sniffing and pawing around her ankles.

“ _ King! _ Stop that, it tickles!” Luz giggled as the dog continued flitting around and in between her legs and feet. Slowly, she made her way to the door on the side of their cottage. As she neared the door, King backed off in anticipation of what he knew was to come.

Luz pushed the door to the cellar open, and looked inside. The shelves in the small room were nearly bare. They had little need for a surplus of food; between the two of them, Luz and Camila had enough. But Luz had always wondered what it would be like not to feel the hot pangs of hunger late each night.

Luz shook her head to clear the bad thoughts, for she had sworn to make today a better day, and she meant to keep that oath.

Finally Luz found what she had been looking for, pulling a piece of dried meat from the shelf in the back. King never needed to be fed much, Luz figured he got most of his food from his own hunting, but he always appreciated a pick-me-up some mornings.

Luz walked out of the cellar, dried meat held behind her back sneakily. King eyed her warily. His temper flared if he didn’t get his snack.

“Sorry King, but there was nothing in there!” King huffed and sometimes Luz swore she could see a deeper intelligence in his beautiful eyes. She chuckled, and, without warning, quickly tossed the dried meat from behind her back.

The jerky flew in an arc, destined to smack King’s spine if he didn’t move. But as Luz expected, the large mutt leapt into the air, expertly catching the meat mid-flight, and downing it with a throw of his head.

“Good boy!” Luz rubbed his fur up and down and the dog leaned his head back in appreciation as the petting continued. For all the game that King barked up, he was remarkably soft, and easily defeated by mere pats.

King’s tail wagged incredibly fast, and Luz was sure that if it hit her, at least a little blood would be drawn. While Luz didn’t necessarily care much about a little blood, her mother would have a conniption if she went to town with even a scratch on her.

And she didn’t feel like getting harassed by the city girls again. Each time the girls messed with her, it became less and less tolerable. Last time, eggs were thrown. So were her fists, but thankfully the catchpole turned a blind eye.

Luz finally had enough of petting the great beast who lazed in her yard, and set out to do her other chores.

“Bye King! Have fun with your… activities.” King barked in response as Luz made her way past the fence and returned to his spot in the shadows of the trees.

The walk to town wasn’t long. Swanlou was easily visible from the cottage, towering over the landscape from its perch on the hill. It had large fortified walls, and a bustling cityscape. Although it wasn’t the largest in the country, by far, it was still quite impressive and it was all topped off with Castle Swanlou. The imposing structure was home to the baron and baroness of the land, Lord and Lady Blight.

They had three children, according to rumor. Luz had only seen two, the heir, Lord Edric Blight, who spent his days in the tavern getting drunk and starting bar fights with the garrison. She had met the man on rather… unpleasant terms.

Edric had tried to hit on her as though she were some bath wench and, given how drunk he was, he probably thought she was one. She had been forced to slowly reject his advances. Had the man not been soused, Luz was sure she’d have been strung up on the spot for rejecting the young lord.

Thankfully, by virtue of God himself intervening most likely, the lord only laughed and patted her on the back, congratulating her for ‘being different’.

That still didn’t stop Luz from quaking in fear with every action he took. Nobles were unpredictable. They could be the most generous, kind people one moment, and they could be stringing you up in the square the next.

Luz had already gotten her share of lashings, she had no intention of adding to them.

The other of the children she had met was Lady Emira Blight. She was an aloof woman, rarely appearing outside the castle, except to address the public on her mother’s behalf, or to drag her brother out of the dredges.

Rumor had it that she was set to marry some knight in a distant land, and while Luz had her doubts, she was sure some facet of the rumor rang true.

She and Lady Emira had met the same day she had met His Lordship. The noblewoman had arrived to pull her brother away from the ale, and back to his duties. The woman seemed to have more of a head on her shoulders than her brother could ever hope to have.

But Luz banished the negative thoughts of her lord from her mind. It was ill-advised to have ill opinions of you superiors.

Luz finally reached the gates of the town, the menacing stonework looming over her as she quietly passed the guards. The sounds of the city quickly surrounded her, welcoming her like a cold bed on a frozen day.

As she walked to the market square, she remained focused on the coin in her pocket. She had learned early and quickly that when in town, if you did not pay attention to your purse, it would swiftly become lighter.

There were many people who lived in Swanlou, not nearly as many as say, Paris or Prague, but it was a decent amount, and for sure the highest in the county. Swanlou, and its surrounding area, housed at least four hundred people.

So it was a large town at least, a city at most. Round each corner was either a beggar, or a salesman, ready to pounce and peddle their wares to you. Luz was no fool, however the general populace may think of her.

She was here to get food, that was it. She wasn’t coming out of the market with fifty grams of silk and not a glimpse of silver to be seen. In her many mistakes, Luz had gained a form of wisdom to avoid certain unfavorable situations.

As she entered the market square, the loud voices of merchants clamoring over each other to make a sale filled the air around her. Men peddled their fine silks, and tools, and women offered bread, vegetables, or other food items.

“Fresh cabbages! Straight from the garden!” A woman yelled over the crowd, being ignored in favor of a man selling meat.

“Nuts, beans, and lentils! Freshly grown, and forever tasty!” A voice cut through the crowd to Luz’s ears, that was the vendor she needed. She was here to get beans, and possibly some stuff for a soup, which she could get the lentils for.

If she planned to get things for pottage, which is what they ate most nights, then she’d have to look around for a grain vendor.

Luz pushed her way through the sea of people in the square, making her way towards where she had heard the voice. The man who had called out the items she was looking for was drowned out in all the noise.

Luz was beginning to get frustrated, the grocers were much too loud, and she couldn’t hear her own thoughts, let alone a specific voice in all the chaos.

Then she caught a glimpse of a stand with beans through the crowd. Luz surged forwards, bobbing and weaving through the mass of people to get to the stand. She was shoved every which way, and was nearly pushed onto her face, but thankfully, she made it to the stand with nary a scratch on her.

“You! Young lady, would you like to buy fresh lentils, beans, or nuts?!” The grocer was pointing at her, and she stopped for a moment, to catch her breath.

“Yes! I need beans and lentils.” The man pulled back from where he had leaned over his stand to point at her, and gestured widely to the array of beans and lentils on the leftmost side of his stand.

“Pick from my large array of  _ freshly picked _ beans and lentils! You won’t regret it, I promise you that!” Luz chuckled and began scanning over the food, picking out the reddish beans, and some of the more fresh looking lentils.

The vendor put a large handful of the reddish beans into a smaller sack, along with the lentils.

“That’ll be eleven groschen, miss!” Luz’s eyes widened, eleven groschen? That was highway robbery! But she reluctantly forked the silver over, leaving only four left in her coinpurse.

“Thank you for your business!” The man turned to peddle his overpriced wares to the next unsuspecting passerby, and Luz turned away to leave.

With only four groschen left, she would only be able to buy a few cabbages, or  _ maybe _ a sliver of pork. If she was lucky, she might get a pouch of grains.

She had to try, at least.

But as she made to leave through the crowd again, a loud voice rang out over the throng of people, silencing all speech, save for a few mutters.

“Make way for The Right Honorable Lord and Lady Blight, and their daughter, The Honorable Amity Blight!” Luz froze, she had never seen the young Lady Amity Blight, only heard rumors of her.

She never appeared outside the castle. Ever. Luz was intrigued by the young lady for, in all her twenty-two years in the city of Swanlou, she had never once caught sight of head nor hair of the youngest Blight.

Luz hoped she was like her siblings, not like her parents. Lord and Lady Blight were a cruel baron and baroness, but Lady Emira and Lord Edric were kinder. Luz would far rather have a drunkard with a penchant for practical jokes than nobles who would have you strung up for looking at him ill.

Luz couldn’t satiate her curiosity from the back of the crowd, so she pushed her way forwards, trying to see the head of Lord Blight towering over the masses as it usually did. Once she caught sight of his neatly groomed brown head of hair, she quickly made her way to the front, where the crowd was parting in the baron’s wake.

Standing behind the Lord and Lady was a young woman, who looked to be her own age. She stood with an incredibly straight posture, but followed the Lord and Lady Blight with a thousand yard stare that said she would rather be anywhere else.

Lady Amity Blight was  _ gorgeous. _ Her fair skin was marred by neither blemish nor scar, and her classical features would make a sculptor jealous. Her cheekbones were high, and her hair was long, even as put up as it was.

She was the definition of womanly.

Luz couldn’t help as her thoughts ran wild, the woman in front of her had thrust her very world into sin. It was bad enough to, as the lowest financial class, have amorous thoughts of her betters. But to have these thoughts for her  _ lady? _ For the fairer sex, her own sex? It was horrifying to her. If she ever mentioned these thoughts to anyone, she would be exiled at best, or  _ hanged _ at worst.

But just as she couldn’t stop her mind from running as wild as the forest witches, she couldn’t stop her feet from moving as she desperately needed to get closer to the visage of beauty that was Lady Amity Blight.

She followed the Blights as they waked, although she was still within the crowd, obscuring their vision of her as she mirrored their movements through the square.

Finally, the baron and baroness reached their destination, a stall in the back of the market, selling meat from various animals.

“Jeremy Conninhagen. You have quite the stock of meats here.” Lord Blight raised his eyebrow as he addressed the vendor, who was sweating nervously.

“Why yes, my Lord. Would you like to purchase some of my stock?” A pregnant silence hung in the air, and the tension made the air almost crackle with energy. The silence is broken by Lord Blight chuckling darkly.

“I’m sorry, pardon me,  _ your _ stock? I apologize, but I do not buy from thieves, and  _ especially _ not from liars.” The man behind the stall scoffed in outrage, and began arguing with Lord Blight. The two men began getting into a heated argument, although over what, Luz couldn’t say, for she was too preoccupied watching Lady Amity’s every move.

She watched her father with disinterest, but looked around the market at the people almost excitedly. Granted, her excitement was hidden behind a glare, but Luz could see the way her eyes sparkled whenever she studied the commoners.

Suddenly, Luz’s body began moving on its own, walking up to the baron’s daughter. Amity didn’t seem to notice her approach, but she heard gasps from the crowd as she neared the young woman.

Luz managed to get all the way up to Amity’s side without being noticed, a feat for her, considering she was particularly inclined to making a ruckus in every step she took. She tapped the noble on her peerless shoulder, causing her to whip around to look at her.

“Uh, who are you?” Luz smiled at the woman’s question, and thrust a hand forwards.

“Hi! I’m Luz Noceda! You must be Lady Amity Blight, right?” Amity nodded slowly, her shock seemed to be subsiding slightly, giving way to confusion. She carefully reached her hand forwards, taking her hand with extreme caution.

“Don’t worry! I don’t bite!” A faint smirk flashed over the noble’s face, but quickly disappeared as Luz began shaking her hand.

Amity’s hand was just as soft as it looked, which was to say about as soft as the most exquisite velvet sold by the tailor. A tingling heat flushed through her body as she thought more about Amity.

Her torturous trip to hell was almost guaranteed at this point. But Luz couldn’t care less, at least not right now, not while she was so focused on her debaucherous thoughts.

Luz didn’t know if it was her, or Amity’s hand that was clammy, but Lady Amity bit her lip, and suddenly the tingling heat turned into hundreds of hot pokers, causing her skin to burn as fiercely as the sun in the sky.

But her moment of burning passion for the woman was interrupted, as Lord and Lady Blight finished their argument with the meat vendor, ending with the man being thrown in jail for poaching. Lord Blight gripped Luz’s shoulder tightly, causing her to freeze in fear.

“Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a little longer than expected, but here it is nonetheless!

Luz turned slowly to face her doom. Lord Blight towered over her, his visage one of pure rage. She gulped, swallowing the fearful lump that had risen in her throat and burying the purge her body tried to send outwards.

Lord Blight narrowed his eyes, and a snarl pulled its way across his noble features at the pace of a snail. Sweat dripped down the back of Luz’s neck.  Her heartbeat thundered in her ears as the deafening silence dragged on, turning mere moments into an eternity of painful anticipation.

“The question was not rhetorical, mutt!” Luz felt terrified tears trying to tear their way out of her eyes, but she wouldn’t embarrass herself any further by crying.

“I-I was just-“ The baron cut her off, grabbing her arm and throwing her to the muddy ground. Her kirtle got soaked in the dirt, and muck splashed up to coat her face.

“Now you look the part, dirty wench.” He spat at her, and kicked her side when she tried to rise. She crumpled and curled up in a fetal position after his plated boot connected with her gut. She tried to protect her face as the baron began kicking her repeatedly, causing a painful crunch to resonate from her ribs.

“On your knees, peasant girl! Plead with your merciful lord!” Luz shakily rose to her knees, and brought her head and arms to the ground.

Her arms connected with each other, and she dug her elbows into the dirt. Her face was dangerously close to the mud as she brought her hands up in a plea. Her ribs ebbed white hot agony into her body

“I beg of thee, forgive mine transgressions!” Lord Blight scoffed, and an unfamiliar shoe pressed against her cheek.

Luz looked to the side, her gaze rose up the porcelain leg to meet the eyes of none other than Lady Amity Blight. The young noblewoman had her dress shoe pressed to Luz’s face, it dug in painfully.

“That’s it, Amity! Show this peasant the  _ proper _ way to approach you!” There was regret, and an apologetic look in her beautiful eyes of melted gold.

Everyone in the square was staring at them now. Luz had made a fool of herself in front of hundreds of people. The markets were in town that day, so not only had she embarrassed herself in front of the whole city, which happened on the regular, but also in front of foreigners.

Amity used her shoe to shove Luz’s face into the dirt, her ribs flared up in pain even more. It would take  _ ages _ to clean the dirt out of her hair now. If she survived, that is.

“What should her punishment be, my daughter?” Amity’s head shot back to look at the baron incredulously.

“W-what? You want me to decide… the punishment?” A sickly sweet smile pulled across Lord Blight’s face, and he chuckled darkly.

“Why yes, you should! It was you that she offended, was it not?” Amity was sweating visibly, but her father paid no mind as he crossed his arms behind his back, moving forwards.

“I-I-“ the baron laughed, cutting his daughter’s speech off.

“No need for mindless chatter, Amity! I’m sure that you would rather decide this wench’s fate yourself, instead of me. You’re such a kind soul after all, a much better Christian than I. For I would have her  _ executed. _ ” Luz and Amity’s eyes widened in sync, looking at each other bewilderedly.

“O-okay father…” She grimaced at Luz as she thought, the square went silent once more.

“Put her on the pillory. F-five hours.” Luz felt a cool relief wash through her. Five hours? She could do that. Much better than death, anyways.

“A little too generous for my tastes, but we already established that you were a better Christian than I.” Lord Blight waved a circle in the air with his finger, and two guards came rushing out of the crowd to grab her by the arms.

The two young men pulled her up, their metal gauntlets pinched at her skin painfully.

The baron and his family left, making their way up the road to return to the castle.

The guards put her in the pillory, the wooden board wasn’t far from where she was assaulted. They put her head and hands in the contraption, and locked it, forcing her to stand.

“Why the fuck would you do that?” Luz looked up at the guard who had asked her the question as he was locking the pillory on her.

“I-I don’t know, to be honest.” The guard sighed, and left quickly once the two of them finished locking her up. But as the market returned to its loud chatter, drowning out most noise, Luz heard the distinct sound of hooves approaching.

“If I had to say, I’d say you had a death wish, Luz.” A familiar voice spoke from the approaching horse, and a hot happiness flowed through every fiber of her soul.

Luz rose her head from where it hung against the pillory, her gaze following a heavily plated chausses, contrasted against a beautiful brown horse. A knight sat upon the horse, his armor reflecting the bright light of the sun as he took his helmet off.

“Sir Edgar!” Edgar chuckled, his medium length orange hair falling from his helmet as he removed.

“Luz, I told you to just call me Edgar.” Luz smiled widely at the knight, his own smile blinding as he dismounted from his horse.

The tall man knelt in front of Luz, pulling a handkerchief from a pouch on his side to wipe the dirt and mud from her face.

“Oh, you poor thing. What were you thinking?!” Luz wilted away from Edgar’s outburst, feeling whiplash from the quick change in tone..

“I don’t know! I just saw Lady Amity Blight for the first time, and I couldn’t help myself as I approached her.” Luz looked up at the knight sadly, tears brimming her eyes.

“Oh no… I know that look. Oh God, Luz no…” He knew, Luz knew that he knew. She could see it in his eyes, the pity, and sad expression as he removed his gauntlet to rub her head.

It was finally too much, and tears began falling from Luz’s face, her hiccups and sobs interrupted by a mantra of ‘I’m sorry’. Edgar only hugged her neck, the comfort of the gesture contrasted with the bite of the plate.

“You! What’s the bail price?!” Edgar stood, and pointed at the guard standing watch. The man looked around wildly, before snorting as he processed the question.

“Too much for you to pay.” Edgar growled and narrowed his eyes at the guard.

“How. Much?” He placed a hand on the pommel of his blade, drawing an inch of the beautifully engraved steel to glint dangerously in the sunlight. The guard looked at the obviously well-used blade, then at Edgar's battleworn armor and lithe body coiled like a tightly wound spring. He gulped.

“Uh… a thousand groschen?” The guard began sweating nervously as Edgar approached. Then the knight unhooked a pouch from his belt, silver clinking around inside of it.

He dropped the groschen bag into the guard’s palm, and glared as he dragged the man by his wrist over to unlock the pillory.

Once the bar was raised, Luz collapsed out of the pillory, causing Edgar to rush forwards to catch her.

Ache thrummed through her side dully, interspersed with sharp stabs of excruciating pain any time she moved slightly. The exertion, combined with the incredible agony she felt, caused sweat to pool, and drip from her brow, mingling with the mud coating the side of her face. As Edgar mounted his horse, carefully laying her across his lap. The knight rubbed her forehead as he began to slowly ride out of the city.

Luz’s vision began to run dark, spots of black injecting into her vision like ink drops in a pool of water. Edgar jostled her side, causing an axe of pure agony to cut through her like a honed blade through flesh.

Her vision blurred from the pain, and the last thing she saw before she slipped from the mortal coil was a crow flying high in the eternal sky.

  
  
  
  


Voices streamed in and out of her mind as her consciousness flickered like a candle in a pauper’s hovel.

Each voice sounded like it was coming through a thick wall of molasses, and the words sounded jumbled, like speaking into a storm, the words being snatched away on the whim of the wind.

_ “Mari...ld! I need-“ _

_ “Camila, I’m… the har… an!” _

_ “Well… enough, Edal-“ _

Nightmares ebbed into her dream-like state occasionally, images of stakes and crosses, her burning on a pyre, an executioner’s axe about to behead her.

But through it all, one face emerged time and time again.

Amity Blight, her angelic form appeared in every dream, be it nightmare or not.

In one particular dream, they were sitting on the hill beside her house, staring up at the stars in the infinite sky.

_ “So… which one is that?” Amity pointed at a collection of stars, and a line connected them as Luz explained. _

_ “That’s Orion and his quarry, the scorpion Scorpio.” Amity hummed, and slid closer to Luz’s side, laying a head to her breast as she curled up. _

_ “This is nice.” Luz made a sound of agreement, and brought her arm down to hug Amity closer. _

_ “I love you.” Amity looked up at Luz in surprise, before a soft expression crossed her sculpted face. _

_ “I love you too.” Amity leaned in and kissed Luz, the pleasant action, and the sinful act that followed almost distracted her from the burning of Swanlou, and the screams of the townsfolk. _

_ Almost. _

In another dream, they laid upon an incredibly large, luxurious bed within Castle Swanlou.

_ Amity was curled against Luz’s side. Comfort filled the room, and warmth flowed from the fireplace. A blanket was draped over them, preserving their dignity. _

_ “This is great.” Luz hummed, and laid her head on Amity’s. _

_ “But… you need to wake up.” Luz raised an eyebrow at her lover, her voice beginning to sound scarily like Edgar’s. _

_ “Luz.  _ **Wake up.** _ ” Luz’s vision began blurring, the room melted away into the ether. She held onto Amity’s face for as long as she could, before it too melted away into the void.. _

**“Wake up, Luz.”** _ Edgar’s voice cut painfully into her mind and Luz clenched her eyes shut as tight as she could, pressing her hands to her ears. _

**“Please, wake up.”** _ Edgar was loud, like a thousand voices screaming in harmony. _

_ Blood pooled and dripped from Luz’s ear canals. _

**“Wake up, we need you to wake up.”** _The eternity around Luz began swirling, images and memories spinning around her as she was swept along the current._

_ Luz fell down, further and further as the black void began brightening into a bright white. _

_ She screamed _ as she awoke, her torso flying up, and her forehead hitting Edgar’s.

“Ow, kid! Goddammit, watch the face!” Edgar held his nose, but quickly paused and stared at Luz, his eyes widening.

“Kid!” The knight shot forwards, wrapping his arms around Luz in one of the tightest hugs she had ever had. She chuckled lightly, and patted the man’s arm to get him to let go.

“Edgar, what happened?” She was sitting in her cot at home, her mother’s apothecary table was pulled to her side, and various bottles laid strewn about the floor.

“After I got you out of the pillory, you passed out on the horse. You’ve been asleep for  _ weeks. _ ” Luz jumped from her cot, but only to fall to the floor in agony, as her ribs throbbed.

“Kid, you still have to rest. He broke your ribs.” Luz hissed in pain as she slowly stood, holding her side.

“But I’ve been laying here for  _ weeks _ , Edgar! I have something I need to do! Where’s mami?” Edgar stood, stretching his back as he did so.

“She’s out in the garden.” Luz slowly made her way out the door, followed closely by Edgar, who stood behind her so that he could catch her if she fell.

True to Edgar’s word, Camila was in the garden, petting King as she checked the various plants. She looked up with a smile, only for it to fall when she saw her daughter.

“L-Luz?” Camila stood, raising her hands to Luz as if she were fragile, before rushing to catch the young woman in a bone crushing hug. Luz’s ribs flared up, but she ignored it in favor of hugging her mother back.

“Mami, I have a confession to make.” Camila pulled back from Luz, levying a soul-piercing stare clear through her.

“Whatever it is doesn’t matter, cariño. I’m just glad that you’re okay.” Tears began brimming in Luz’s eyes again, and she sniffled as she wiped them away, only for her eyes to immediately fill again.

“But it does matter! Mami I messed up!” The tears began pouring down her face freely, combining with snot from her nose to drip down and mix with the dirt. King stood, and paced over to lap the salt from her face.

“What did you do? Kill someone? Cariño, tell me! If you killed someone, we can get you out of it somehow, you know that.” Luz giggled through her sobs, but kept crying nonetheless.

“No, mami, I didn’t kill anyone.” Camila brushed Luz’s hair to the side, wiping a few tears away with her thumb.

“What did you do?” Luz chuckled and choked back a few sobs, calming herself enough to speak.

“I’m in love with a woman…” The silence was palpable, as Camila’s expression pinched in shock, and Edgar turned away from the pair.

“Oh Dios, Luz no... Bebé, lo siento mucho.” Camila pulled Luz in for another hug, holding the back of her head tightly. Luz sobbed into her mother’s shoulder, gripping the fabric tightly as she let loose all her emotions.

Edgar placed a hand on her shoulder and gave Camila an indecipherable look. Camila nodded at Edgar, making him sigh.

“Luz, there’s something we need to tell you.” Luz sniffled up the last of her breakdown, and wiped the liquid from her face.

“You want to send me to the Church, I know.” Edgar barked out a cynical laugh and gave Luz the most serious stare that she had ever seen the man make.

“Fuck the church.” Luz’s eyes widened, and her eyebrows disappeared into her bangs.

“Wait… do you mean-“ Edgar nodded, and gave Luz’s shoulder a comforting squeeze.

“We support you completely. But not just out of the goodness of our hearts.” Edgar removed his breastplate, and dropped the tunic he held underneath it.

And Luz’s entire world shattered, as Edgar exposed the chest bindings he wore underneath.

“Y-you… you’re a-a…” Luz trailed off, her mind running as fast as a racehorse.

“Yes, I’m a woman. And I’m in love with your mother.” Luz’s head shot over to Camila, gauging her reaction.

She just nodded sagely, a small smile showing on her face.

“You… you’re like me…” Edgar winked, and put her tunic back on.

“The name I was baptized with is Edalyn, you can just call me Eda, Edgar’s still fine too.” Eda took her breastplate, and attached it to her horse.

“So, kid. What’s the name of this prepossessing dame, who has charmed the heart of our young Lady Luz, eh?” Luz giggled, and relaxed into her mother’s arms.

“Lady Amity Blight.” 

Eda froze, and turned a disbelieving look on Luz. “Are you crazy?!” 

Luz crossed her arms in defiance, turning her nose up. “I can’t control who I like!” 

Eda relaxed, chuckling as she finished tying her upper armor to her horse.

“You are right about that.” Eda sighed, and drew a sword from her horse, pointing it at Luz.

“I think I know how you can woo your lord’s daughter.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention it last chapter, but for those who like to imagine character voices, Luz is Dutch, Amity is Danish, Eda is German, and Camila is Spanish. Assume every other character is German, unless specified!

“Really?!” 

Eda chuckled, and helped Camila to her feet. Luz had already shot up in excitement.

“Hell yeah. I’m going to make a man out of you.” Luz felt the excited energy rise to a peak inside her, exploding out in a high pitched squeal.

Eda handed the simple sword she had pulled from her horse to Luz, along with a small scabbard.

“This here is a training sword. We aren’t gonna use it just yet, but I want you to get used to its weight.” Luz nodded, and held the sword and scabbard to her side.

“Now, you two. I don’t want Luz getting hurt, alright?” Eda rolled her eyes playfully, but laid a loving hand on Camila’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt her, and it’s just training. It’s for show, she won’t have to use it.” Camila narrowed her eyes, but relented.

“Okay, I’ll let you two go play swords. But Luz isn’t getting any more physical than training, alright?!” Eda chuckled, and held up her hands placatingly. Luz was less amused, however.

“Mami, I’m a grown woman! I can do what I want!” Camila sighed sadly, and leaned her head against Eda’s chest.

“I know, cariño. I know. I know that I can’t stop you, but I want to at least  _ try _ .” Luz’s argument died in her throat, her mother’s sad expression overpowering her rebellion.

“I can’t lose you, okay?” Luz smiled at her mother, trying to comfort her.

“You won’t. I swear on my honor.” Camila smiled, and rolled her eyes, but Eda scoffed at her.

“You aren’t a knight yet, dumbass!” Luz stuck her tongue out at the knight, placing her fists on her waist.

“Alright kid, let’s not dilly dally. We have to cut your hair, and bind your tits.” Luz was intrigued. She had never had her hair shorter than its current length, which was below her shoulder blades, and chest bindings were something new to her as well.

Eda led Luz to the trough by the door, unsheathing her sword with a light shink.

Eda bunched all of Luz’s hair up as if it was going in a ponytail, except she took her blade to it instead.

The sword cut through her hair easily, no resistance held it back as Eda dragged the blade to give her a short haircut.

Luz gasped in wonder as her hair fell forwards, her bangs were much shorter, only reaching her eyebrows, and curling up. There was no longer any excess hair hanging off the back or side of her head.

“Alright, kid. Dress off.” Luz burned brightly as she took her nightgown off, indecently exposing herself to Eda, who didn’t even react as she grabbed a large roll of bandages from her pouch.

“This is gonna feel uncomfortable, and might hurt a bit, okay? It’ll get better later, you’ll forget it’s even there!” Eda explained to Luz as she wrapped her chest in the cloth bindings, squeezing her chest uncomfortably as it tightened.

“There, we’re done. Go and have a gander at yourself, Luz. Or should I say…” Eda thought for a moment as Luz walked over to the water trough to look at her reflection.

“Luther! We’ll call you Luther!” Eda’s exclamation of Luz’s new name was drowned out by the blood pounding in her ears, her entire world flipped upside down as she stared at the reflection of herself in the water.

She looked like a boy… and that was the single most incredible thing she had ever seen.

Eda tossed her a shirt and hose from her horse, proclaiming for her to don the garments. Luz took a short time to practically throw the clothing on.

Luz kept touching her rough, shortened hair in amazement, and winced every time she rubbed her chest as she followed Eda back to her horse.

“C’mon kid, we’re gonna get you a stick-sword, and some armor.” Luz’s head shot over to look at Eda with wonder.

“I’m getting armor?! Oh my God, that’s incredible!” Eda chuckled, and held her hand out to help Luz onto the stallion.

Once they were situated, Eda began putting the armor back on her upper body, opting to keep the helmet tied to the saddle.

Then they were off. As they rode, the city of Swanlou loomed ever so menacingly in the distance, causing hair to raise on Luz’s neck and goosebumps to spread across her skin.

It wasn’t a long walk on foot, even less so on horseback. Within a couple minutes, they had reached the gates to Swanlou, the guards paying them no mind as they passed.

“So what kind of armor am I getting?!” Eda placed a finger on her chin in thought, before answering.

“Something simple, not too expensive. I may be wealthy, but I have no king’s ransom.” Excitement was building within Luz yet again, a humming energy that buzzed inside of her like a thousand bees.

The markets weren’t in town this time - they only came once a week - so it was quieter in the square, only a few people buying items, and a couple local merchants peddling their wares.

Luz and Eda paid them no mind as they rode deeper into town, passing a few merchants’ houses, which had various signs with images outside, advertising whatever that particular vendor sold.

There were beggars on the streets, crying for alms as they passed. Some offered blessings to the rare pedestrian who tossed a coin their way, others spat curses on the boots of the fortunate who paid them no heed. Seeing the poor people having to lay on the street, begging any passerby to be a good Christian and help their neighbor, made Luz frown and tug on Eda’s armor.

“Yeah, kid?” Eda turned and faced Luz as the horse continued walking, ignoring the pleas from the vagabonds beneath them.

“These beggars… shouldn’t we help them?” Eda sighed sadly, flicking the reins on the horse.

“Kid, look, understand this. If we gave a beggar an alm, every poor wretch in the area would be asking for one too. And if we gave every poor fucker in the town alms, we wouldn’t have any for ourselves, and then who’s the beggar?” Luz frowned as Eda sped up.

“Okay…” Eda sighed again and brought the horse to a canter, speeding past any tramp in the streets.

The cries and pleads of the unfortunate paupers were drowned out by the increasing bustle of the rich townsfolk as they neared the castle. Merchants selling fine silk, and other commodities, became more common as they continued cantering up through the city.

Luz got odd looks the further up they went in town, men and women alike sent ill mannered looks at her, likely because of her unfortunate clothing. In this part of Swanlou, most citizens wore high quality silk and cloths, dyed in the beautiful, costly colors of the high ranks of society.

The street under the horse’s hooves was paved with cobblestone, differentiating it from most towns, including the lower half of Swanlou itself.

There weren’t any paupers in this part of the city. Despite it being a place of higher wealth, it was also the place where one was most likely to encounter Lord Blight, which was practically a death sentence for a beggar.

Luz had never been in the rich, upper side of Swanlou. She was too impoverished to have a reason to be there, and even if she  _ did, _ it was incredibly likely that she would be harassed by the folk who lived there.

Before long, the smoke of the blacksmith’s forge was hovering over them. The smell of charcoal tainted the air around them, making Luz cough fiercely.

Centered around the blacksmith were the shops that sold forged items, the armorsmith, swordsmith, and locksmith to name a few. Within the same building as the armorsmith was the tailor, his clothes on display in his stall outside.

Eda slowed the horse down, and brought it to a stop in front of a bar of wood and a long trough.

Eda slowly dismounted from the horse, her armor clanking, and the horse huffed as she hitched it to the post. Luz enthusiastically hopped off the back of the horse, nearly slipping in the mud on the ground as she landed.

Luz regained her balance, and she winced as Eda led her into the shop.

The armorsmith’s shop smelled metallic, with a hint of charcoal and incense. There was armor hanging all over the store, as well as shields lining the wall. There were a couple plates of metal sitting in front of a large furnace and the fire roared within the furnace’s maw, heating the shop to an uncomfortable degree. Luz felt sweat trickling off various parts of her body, and Eda looked more uncomfortable than she felt.

“Welcome, good sir knight! What is it you are looking for on this fine day, hm? A shield to protect yourself? Perhaps a new armor piece, finely crafted by yours truly, in conjunction with Master Blacksmith Zybvyk?” The armorsmith pointed to various items around his shop as he greeted Eda, and the guard in the back eyed Luz warily, glaring at her as he placed a hand on the sword on his hip.

“Today, I’m not here for me! I’ve come for armor for my young son, here.” Eda placed a gauntleted hand on Luz’s shoulder, pulling her forwards to face the shopkeeper.

“He’s been of age for a while now, and his mother has finally let go of her fears. I felt it was high time he got a suit for himself!” Eda gripped both of her shoulders, squeezing as she pushed Luz forwards.

“Ohh, I see! Your son has an interesting way to dress, I must say! I thought he was some vagrant, followed in off the street to pick your pocket!” Eda laughed heartily, and gripped her shoulders tighter.

“Go on, Luther! Choose something from this fine man’s shop!” Eda spoke through a clenched teeth smile, and Luz hurriedly rushed up to the counter.

“Why hello there, young man! What is it you’re after?” The armorsmith was smiling warmly at her, he smelled like a forge, and he wasn’t much taller than her.

“Uh, can I have a look at your stock, please?” The armorsmith smiled wider, his brown goatee, flecked with gray, spread across his face as grinned madly at her.

“Why yes! You can!” He pulled a helmet from beneath the counter, it shined brightly in the candlelight, and it had little openings.

“This klappvisor is one of my finest works, yet! It will protect you in any battle! Be it physical, or social, as anyone seen in this is an instant young buck, attractive to even the pickiest of dames!” The helm had a visor over where the face would be, and had slits over the eyes. There were small holes for breathing that dotted the face of the helmet.

“And if you wear this coif under it, your head will surely be impervious to even the most skilled of swordsmen!” The armorsmith grabbed a mail coif from a shelf behind him, placing it beside the helmet.

“That sounds great! I think I’ll take the coif and helmet, but I still need the rest.” The armorsmith chuckled lightly.

“Of course, a helmet isn’t everything after all. What kind of armor are you looking for, when it comes to the rest of your body? Plenty of plate, or no?” Luz thought for a moment, she didn’t think she could carry around a fortress of plate armor like Eda did, but at the same time she didn’t want to just be wearing chainmail.

“Is there a middle option? Not too heavy, but still some protection?” The armorsmith nodded, and began searching through the shelves and racks within the room.

“How’s this?” He placed a cuirass on the counter with the helmet and coif, as well as plate pauldrons. He held a finger up as Luz went to speak, and reached beneath the counter.

He pulled mail chausses out and put them beside the rest of the suit, and placed a pair of iron boots beside that. Once all the pieces were placed, he spread his hands out, displaying the armor.

“Ooh. I like it! How much?” The armorsmith counted the pieces, and paused to think for a moment.

“Seven thousand five hundred groschen.” Luz’s heart dropped into a gnawing pit in her gut, there was no way in hell anyone could pay that much.

Luz hadn’t seen that much money in her entire life, and he wanted it just for a suit of armor? But Eda sighed, and unhooked a hefty bag of clinking silver from her belt, placing it on the counter in front of the armorsmith.

“That’s eight thousand groschen. Throw in a crotch piece, and that wooden sword you got sitting on the sill over there, and you’ve got a deal.” The armorsmith smiled the same smile as earlier, a sleazy grin as he pulled out a crotch piece and grabbed the sword off the windowsill.

“Thank you for your business, good sir knight, and you as well, young man. I hope my armor does you well.” Luz smiled at the armorsmith, and followed Eda out as she got the horse ready for the armor.

“He was nice.” Eda scoffed and angrily unhooked a couple straps on her horse’s saddle, getting it prepared to carry the armor.

“If you think he was nice, then he succeeded in fooling you.” Luz frowned, but couldn’t respond, as the shop guard and armorsmith came out, carrying her armor.

“Hook it up to the horse, boys.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Again!”

“Again!”

“Again!”

Every inch of Luz’s body throbbed. Edgar had her doing exercises with the wooden sword, hitting various points, trying to get through a simple guard, parrying, blocking, all the basic techniques necessary for sword fighting.

But basic did not mean simple, and simple did not mean easy, as each drill took its toll on her. Her stamina was waning, and her resolve was dwindling like candlelight on a windy night.

Edgar’s wooden sword thwacked against hers, knocking the sturdy piece of carved wood aside. He closed the gap, and thrust the tip of his sword up into her gut, causing her to fall over in pain.

“Again!” Luz was breathing heavily, exhaustion was coating her brow, but Edgar had barely broken a sweat.

“Can-“ she took in a shuddering breath, “can we take a break?” Edgar scoffed, and returned to his training position.

“You need to work past the barrier of physical limitations. Once you do that,  _ then _ , and only then, can we take a break. Now get up, you have work to do, young squire.” Luz wheezed as she dragged herself to her feet, leaning on the sword for balance as she righted herself.

“What… what barrier?” Edgar narrowed his eyes, and rushed forwards to close the gap between them.

Luz quickly raised her sword, causing the wooden blades to meet in the middle, locking them into a clinch as Edgar pressed down on her sword, a fire lit in his eyes.

“How do you get out of this situation, Luz? An inexperienced sword fighter will try to do this any chance he gets, how do you win every time?” Luz thought about the question for a moment, but any thought she had gathered, was blown away as Edgar kicked her shin, causing her to fall over.

Luz’s breath was knocked from her chest as she landed, her thoughts as muddled as blood in the streets during a rainstorm. Edgar’s blade came roaring in from the side, the wood lost to her befuddled mind, and the identity of her attacker gone as well.

Luz’s senses cleared, and her limbs lost their exhaustive state, as she brought her sword up to block Edgar’s finishing move. She leapt to her feet, controlling Edgar’s blade as she rose, and driving the stick into the ground.

Luz used her boot, and stomped on the hand that held Edgar’s sword, causing him to leave the wooden blade stuck in the mud. He recoiled, holding his hand, and Luz took advantage of his unfavorable state.

She rushed forwards, and jabbed the blade of her wooden sword at Edgar’s face. As she expected, the knight dodged forwards, passing the blade to punch her in the gut.

So she kicked his knee, causing Edgar to stumble forwards, leaving an opening for her.

Luz closed the gap between them, as Edgar pulled his training blade from its sheath, quickly raising it to block her wooden sword. She locked them into a clinch, pressing her stick-sword down into his sharper, metal training blade.

“Good one, Lu-“ She didn’t let Edgar finish his praise, as she swept his feet from under him, pressing her wooden blade forwards to help knock the knight over.

Eda fell to the ground, landing on her ass. Her training sword was knocked to the far side of their training area, and Luz brought her wooden sword to lightly poke against Eda’s neck.

Eda’s panicked expression fell into a proud smile, and she pushed Luz’s sword to the side. She wiped the sweat off her brow, and stood, putting the stray strand of her hair back into their ponytail.

“Well done, kid. Let’s go take a break, eh? I think you’ve earned it.” Luz’s heavy breathing was back, and her throat was completely parched. She followed Eda as she picked up her disarmed swords, and returned to their home.

Eda pushed the door to the cottage open, and tossed the training swords into her pile of belongings that sat behind the entrance.

“Cami! I’m taking the kid into town to get a drink and a bite to eat!” Eda yelled into the house, causing Luz’s mother to poke her head out from the bedroom.

“Okay! Can you bring back some food with you?”

“Yeah, no problem.” Camila smiled, and returned to what she was doing in the bedroom.

Luz took a quick wash in the trough before they left, she didn’t want to smell like body odor when they got there.

“Hurry it up kid, or I’m leaving you!” Luz scoffed, but sped up her bath nonetheless.

Before long, the grime was washed off, and she didn’t smell terrible. She didn’t smell as good as she may have wanted, but she had a deadline.

Luz threw on a thin tunic, some hose, and her boots, and ran after Eda to get on the horse before she left.

The second that Luz was on the horse, Eda flicked the reins, causing the horse to begin moving into town.

“So, where are we going to eat?” Luz was bouncing in her seat on the horse, causing the animal to huff every time she bounced on its backside.

“The tavern, of course!” Luz squealed in excitement, she rarely went to the tavern, especially not after her encounter with Lord Edric Blight.

Eda chuckled, and sped the horse up slightly, ignoring the pleas of the beggars beneath them. No matter how many times she and Eda rode through town, the cries of the unfortunate still bothered her.

It was mid-day, and the awful smells of the moat wafted upwards, surrounding them in disgusting, hot vapors as the sweltering sun beat down on them. Luz was glad that they decided to leave the armor off this time, because she didn’t think that she’d have survived being baked in the metal trap.

The gatehouse passed overhead with no trouble, the gate guards paying them no mind as the horse walked past. The stone walls of Swanlou towered over them as they entered the city, and the hooves of the horse thumped fully against the dirt and mud of the road.

Small thatch huts sat along the walls, housing paupers and serfs, whom occasionally sat on the side of the road to beg, praying to God to save their unfortunate souls.

The lower church sat in reverent silence, not a soul to be seen within its walls. The square too, had no people in its midst.

Luz shuddered at the atmosphere, the only sound there was the echoing prayers and pleas of the beggars, crying to them to save their stomachs for the day.

Thankfully, as they neared the tavern, the sounds of the gate petered off into the usual boisterous mood of an alehouse.

Tables sat outside, filled with men, drinking ale as fast as the women could fetch it from the cellar, and devouring the food that came out of the kitchen with the voraciousness of a starved army.

The sounds of hearty laughter, and the retching of the piss-drunk filled the air as they approached. No one in the tavern even reacted as Eda led the horse to be hitched.

“C’mon kid, let’s find a table.” Eda dismounted from her horse, and Luz quickly followed suit. The two of them went into the tavern building itself, and sat down at one of the only empty tables in the entire establishment.

Eda tapped her hand on the table, raised her hand, and called out into the alehouse.

“Maid!”

And within a minute, one of the women who staffed the alehouse showed up at their table.

“Good afternoon, sirs! What will ye be having today?” The maid smiled cloyingly at them, but her eyes reflected a deep anger and Eda chuckled.

“Ale and a slab of bacon for me.” She nodded at Eda, and turned to face Luz.

“What’ll ye be having, sir?” Luz thought for a moment.

“Ale, and pottage for me, please.” The maid gave her a curt nod, and went to leave.

“Make sure the ale’s cold!” Eda called out as the maid left. Luz wasn’t sure if she heard Eda, but they’d find out when the ale came.

“So, Eda-“ Eda held a hand up.

“Call me Edgar in public, Luther.” Luz nodded at her mentor, and continued speaking.

“Edgar. Am I ready to use the training sword yet?” Edgar placed a finger against his chin, and tapped intermittently on the pommel of his sword.

“Yeah, I’d say so.” Luz squealed in excitement, garnering a few odd looks from across the tavern.

Edgar chuckled, and the maid finally returned, her arms laden with their meals and ale.

“Thank you.” The maid froze for a moment, and Luz had to slowly pull her food and drink out of her arms.

The maid bowed to them, and left for the outside, likely to help her sisters with the bustling outside portion of the tavern.

“Shall the gluttonous sin of getting absolutely pissed begin?” Edgar raised his glass to Luz, who returned it with a clink of hers.

“It shall!”

Edgar downed his drink in a single throw of his head, and tapped the table to order another. Luz did similar, throwing her head back and downing the glass of ale with a few burning gulps.

She belched, and tapped the table to order another. “We’re getting shitfaced today, aren’t we?” 

Edgar barked out a laugh, and nodded his head. “Hell yeah, we are!” 

Luz grinned madly, and grabbed the pitcher of ale that had been brought to refill their glasses. “Give us the whole pitcher, madam, we can refill ourselves!” Edgar exclaimed an agreement, and tossed a few groschen across the table, which were quickly grabbed by the maid.

“Alright boys, but don’t get  _ too _ drunk.” The maid chuckled, and left them to refill themselves.

Edgar and Luz knocked their glasses together, spilling a couple of drops of ale onto the wooden table. Then they downed the glasses in sync, a burning sensation trickling down Luz’s throat, following the ale on its way down.

A warm fluttering filled Luz, ebbing from her stomach. She had never been drunk before, but there was always a first time for everything.

Edgar shook his head after downing his third glass, refilling it as Luz recovered.

“Well, I’ll be! It’s Edgar of House Clawthorne!” Edgar’s head shot up to look at the man approaching, standing quickly once he got a good look.

Luz looked back at the newcomers, blinking slowly as she tried to remember where she had seen them before. But before she could figure it out, Edgar called out to the man.

“Well, I’ll be damned! It’s been a hell of a while, Freiherr Kostis! And who’s this young lady behind you?” Kostis chuckled, and pulled the girl forwards to face Edgar, who bows before the knight.

“Go on! Introduce yourself!” The young woman was conventionally attractive, and Luz couldn’t deny that she had less than God-fearing thoughts about her.

“It’s my pleasure to meet you, Sir Edgar. I am Lady Willow Park of the Park Freiherren.” Edgar’s eyes sparkled, and he looked up at Kostis excitedly.

“So not only did you finally get laid, but you had a daughter?! Color me impressed, my friend!” Kostis chuckled, and Edgar ruffled Lady Willow’s hair slightly, causing the woman to scoff and attempt to fix it.

“Well, I noticed that you aren’t alone! Who’s this strapping young lad that you have with you?” Edgar laughed, and laid a hand on Luz’s shoulder.

“This is my son, Luther Clawthorne!”


	5. Chapter 5

Luz tossed back yet another glass of ale and she began pouring another the second it hit the table.

“So, what brings yeh teh Swanlou?” Willow gave her an aloof look, and ignored her for a moment, but sighed as she caved to Luz’s drunken puppy-eyed stare.

“We came here to visit Lord Blight.” 

Luz scoffed, slurring her words slightly as she spoke. “ _Fuck_ the Blights. Good fer nuffin fuckin noble _arseholes_ , eh?” Willow rolled her eyes at the drunkard.

“It is ill-advised to speak so lowly of your betters. You may be Sir Edgar’s son, but that only puts you as equals with their children. Only their spawn are your peers, Sir Luther.” 

Luz waved a dismissive hand at Willow, causing the young woman to growl in annoyance. “You are insufferable!” Luz giggled at the noblewoman’s outburst, her dignity took second to her anger it seemed.

“Heheh, ‘nd yer as stuck-up as those fuckin… I dunno. Yer stuck-up!” Willow’s face turned a slight shade of red, and Luz had little time to react as her hand came flying across the table, smacking her upside the head.

The tavern, once bustling and heavy with rambunctious laughter, fell deadly silent as the slap echoed throughout the room, even being heard outside.

Willow’s anger melted quickly in wake of what she did, and she looked at her hand bewilderedly as Luz recovered. Edgar looked at them bemusedly, snorting as he tried to return to his game of farkle, but his dice partner, Kostis, shot an incredibly nervous look at them.

“Heh, that was a good one.” Relief could be felt washing over the room, no one wanted to see some poor girl get punished, noble or not.

Kostis made to stand, but Edgar half drunkenly pulled him back into his seat, shoving a tankard of ale into his hands and placing his cup of dice onto the table.

“I-I apologize, Sir Luther. I don’t know what came over me…” Luz snorted at the noblewoman, her sporadic personality amused her.

“Don’ worry ‘bout it.” And with one sentence, Willow was back to scoffing at Luz.

“You know-“ Whatever Willow had intended to say was cut off by the loud bang of the door to the tavern slamming open. A familiar man stepped in, his golden eyes glinting dangerously as he scanned the room.

“You! Wench!” He pointed to one of the alehouse maids, who stood as quickly as she could, and was as straight as a board.

“Get me a fuckin ale!” His grimace turned up into a grin as the maid frantically ran and got a cold glass of fresh ale from the cellar.

“That’s more like it!” Lord Edric Blight downed the entire thing in a single gulp, slamming it down on a nearby table once the last drop is down his gullet.

“Keep ‘em comin! I’ll pay extra to whichever one of you wenches gets me drunk first!” Lord Edric chuckled under his breath, mouthing the word ‘extra’ repeatedly.

He made his way over to where Edgar was sitting, and plopped down in the chair next to him to watch the dice game.

Luz stood from her chair drunkenly, nearly tripping and falling over the wooden furniture as she did so. She stumbled for a moment, but managed to cross the tavern over to where Lord Edric sat.

“You look familiar… do I know you from somewhere?” Edgar and Kostis still hadn’t noticed his presence, but once Luz thumped down into her seat, the two men looked up and noticed their arrival.

“Ah! Young Edric Blight! What a pleasure!” Kostis clapped him on the back, breaking him out of the stare he was giving Luz, who was giggling fiercely.

“Would you look at that! Freiherr Kostis! It’s been far too long!” Kostis gave a hearty chuckle, and called his daughter over.

“It truly has, my boy! It truly has! My daughter has grown much since you last saw her!” Willow gave a small curtsy to the young lord, causing him to look her up and down.

“She’s grown into a fine young lady, I’d say!” Kostis laughed, and clapped Lord Edric on the back again.

“Don’t get any ideas, lad! She’s already set for marriage!” Willow rolled her eyes, but Lord Edric snapped his fingers in the air.

“Damn! A right shame! She would’ve made a fine wife!” Everyone sitting at the table gave him a long, hard glare. Even Luz, who had to pause from her drunken ceiling-gazing to levy the look on him.

“I jest! I jest! I already have women in mind!” The tense atmosphere at the table subsided slightly, and the game of farkle was resumed.

“So… where have I seen you before?” Lord Edric narrowed his eyes at Luz, who chuckled nervously, a bead of sweat running its way down her back.

“Oh you know… here and there probably…” In an act of divine intervention, the young lord turned away, dropping the subject for the time being.

Luz’s booze ridden mind couldn’t have handled many more lines of questioning.

“Ah, young Edric! Have you met my son here before?” Edgar greeted the lord, winning the game of farkle as he did so.

Lord Edric looked back at Luz, narrowing his eyes as he scanned her up and down.

“I… I’m not sure.” Edgar laughed and grabbed Luz from across the table, pulling her in front of Lord Edric.

“His name is Luther, and he’s quite the squire!” Luz stood unsteadily on her feet, causing the baron’s son to snort.

“Oh really? He can’t even hold his drink!”

“Bah! Nonsense! It’s just his first time boozing!” Luz nodded, the motion nearly causing her to lose her dinner right there.

“Really?! He’s how old, and he hasn’t been out to drink yet?! You’re quite the good Christian, my friend! Better than I, at least! I’ve been drinking since I was but a lad!” Lord Edric made to continue the conversation with Luz, but she held up a finger to stop him.

“W-where’s the latrine?” Edric hurriedly pointed to the back door of the tavern.

“Hurry! I don’t want this place shut down early!” Luz nodded, and ran for the latrine.

She threw the back door open, and as it closed behind her, the laughter and loud noises of the alehouse faded. A latrine sat along the stone wall beside the tavern, and Luz rushed as fast as she could into the shithouse.

She retched her guts out into the pot, and hearing it splash down into the pit below nearly made her lose it again.

A quick piss later, and she was on her way back into the alehouse.

“-and so I said ‘what the fuck do you think I’m doing?! Takin’ the piss, eh?!’” Bouts of laughter rang out into the bustling tavern, and Edgar was holding out his arms as if to bask in the laughter from his story.

“Ah, good one, Eddie! You never fail to give me a good laugh!” Kostis laughed heartily as he praised Edgar, who ignored him as he noticed Luz’s return.

“Welcome back to the land of the drunkards, Luther! You got the alcohol out of your system?!” Luz belched, which caused disgusting acid to rise up her throat.

“Ugh, yeah. Why?” Edgar laughed, and clapped a hand on Lord Edric’s back.

“This braggart here wants to duel you! I told him it was a bad idea, but it only made him more eager to get his arse kicked!” Luz groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Father… I’ve only been training for a month!” Edgar scoffed, and confusedly counted the fingers on his hand.

“Ah bugger, you’re right. Well, you trained with the incredible Sir Edgar of House Clawthorne! A month with me is like a year to anyone else!” 

Luz rubbed her temples exasperatedly. “Ugh, I’m going to lose!” 

Edgar waved a hand at her. “Nah, you’ll win! Probably…” 

Luz sighed and walked up to Lord Edric. “So when’re we doing this?” 

Lord Edric pressed a finger to his chin and hummed. “Three day’s time, at noon, in the courtyard of Castle Swanlou. We can fight in the tourney ring.”

“It’s a deal then. What does the winner get?” 

Lord Edric hummed a small tune as he tapped his finger in thought. “Bragging rights and… Harlot! My horse! If I win, I keep it; if you win, as unlikely as that would be, you get it!” Luz stuck a hand out at Lord Edric, deja vu spearing through her.

Edric took her hand and shook it firmly, sealing the duel in stone. “Training weapons only, I don’t feel like losing a hand.” 

Luz nodded, and grabbed a spare ale off the table, downing it in a couple gulps. “I feel the same, does the participant bring their own armor?” 

Edric shook his head, and sipped his beer. “Father will provide us with armor as he sees fit, and I’m sure he would appreciate meeting Sir Edgar’s son.” A pang of fear ran through Luz, but she stifled it in favor of nodding her head.

Their hands finally parted, and sweat clung to both surfaces as they wiped their palms on their tunics.

* * *

“Your stance is all wrong, kid!” Eda proved her point by sweeping Luz’s leg, causing her to fall before she had the chance to retaliate.

“Get the fuck up, and do it right!” Luz rose to her feet painfully. Every part of her body was sore, and small cuts littered her skin, the blood mixing with the mud.

“Plant your feet into the mud! If you cannot hold your ground, your opponent will knock you on your ass faster than you can say ‘Oh no! Please don’t hurt me!’” Eda pointed her sword at Luz. The long blade shone in the sun, its dulled blade glinting dangerously.

Luz dug her feet deep into the earth and she held her sword in front of her to block any incoming strikes from Eda.

Eda paced towards her and swung at her right side. Luz saw the attack and moved her arming sword to block it, carrying the longsword away from her body.

Eda smirked, and in the blink of an eye dashed behind her, dodging out of the way of Luz’s sword as it swung past her. Luz stumbled in the mud, as her feet held her in place.

Luz finally pulled her feet free, but as she did, a cool blade pressed to the side of her neck, the metal causing her to shiver as Eda growled.

“Didn’t I tell you to always keep on your feet?! Never stop moving! Plant your feet, but don’t dig in!” Eda pulled the sword away from her neck, and returned to her position in front of Luz to demonstrate the technique again.

“Plant your feet into the mud, but don’t dig in! Don’t let anyone knock you on your ass, but don’t let them get out of sight either!” Luz parted her legs and planted her feet in the mud, but kept her feet from going in too deep, only making slight grooves.

Eda narrowed her eyes and rushed forwards, holding her blade out in front of her as she quickly closed the gap. Luz took an experimental swing, testing her teacher’s block.

Eda knocked the blade aside easily, and retaliated with a stab towards Luz’s face. She stepped to the side, and using her arming sword, she led the blade in a path to the ground.

Eda expected this - as Luz knew she would - and she stepped into the path, bringing her sword up in a flicking motion straight for Luz’s wrist.

Luz flipped her sword around in her hand, and blocked her wrist using the curved crossguard.

Eda’s blade collided with the base of Luz’s and slid down, getting caught in between the crossguard and the blade. Luz grabbed the mid-section of her blade, and used the extra leverage to twist the entire sword around, catching Eda’s blade in the motion.

The longsword flew out of Eda’s grasp and landed with a dull thud in the mud below. Eda smiled and dodged around Luz’s blade as she pressed forwards.

Luz continued pushing Eda back until she was trapped in the corner of the training ring, the fence pressed to her back as Luz rushed forwards.

Luz’s sword came dangerously close to Eda’s stomach, but the knight merely pressed the sword to the side, using Luz’s momentum against her to make her run face first into the fence.

Luz knew that Eda was going to do this, as it was her go to parry whenever she was unarmed. So Luz held a fist out, punching Eda in the gut as she flew past, and she pressed her foot against the sturdy wooden fence, stopping her own momentum.

Eda held her stomach and turned just in time to see Luz’s sword as it stopped just shy of her neck.

“Ugh, nice one, kid! You’re getting better at reading your opponent! Prediction is half the battle, and you’ve got it down pretty well, I’d say!” Luz grinned through her panting breaths, and sheathed her arming sword.

“I think you’re ready to use your armor!” Luz chuckled at her mentor, and shook her head as she unhooked the belt that held her sword, hanging it on the fence.

“Yeah, too bad the fight is tomorrow. If _only_ I could’ve had more time to train in armor! Definitely not bitter about that!” Eda snorted, and clapped a hand on Luz’s shoulder.

“Eh, you weren’t ready! At least we have the time for me to show you how to put it on!” Luz took a handful of the water in the trough on the other side of the fence, and splashed it in her face.

“Yeah, thank God we at least have that.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! A lot of stuff has been going on, and I was having a little trouble with the chapter :P

“Come on, kid! Hop on the damned horse, or we’ll be late to your first duel!” Eda called to her from atop the horse, her armor shining brilliantly in the early morning sun.

“Keep your head on, I’m coming.” Luz shut the door to the cottage quietly as her mother was still sleeping. They had decided to set out early, that way they would have time to talk with Lord and Lady Blight.

And for Luz to possibly run into Amity.

The noblewoman filled her every waking and sleeping thought.  Her dreams were epic plays starring only herself and the beautiful temptress. Whether the plays were romantic and loving or full of lust and sin depended entirely on Luz's mood at any given moment.

Eda had caught her out in the woods the other day, sinning to the thought of Lady Amity Blight. She didn’t think she’d  _ ever _ live that one down.

Luz finally reached Eda’s horse and, using the hand the knight offered, hefted herself onto the back of the stallion. Her armor jangled uncomfortably on her body and the added weight made her every move take an incredible amount of effort.

“Alright, Luz. Visor down. We must look as noble as we can possibly manage. I’m sure you know why.”  Luz nodded and flipped the klappvisor down. Instantly, the world was obscured as her field of vision narrowed down to what could be seen out from the narrow slits in the metal visor.

“Right, it’s time to go get my arse beat.” Eda chuckled and reached back to pat Luz with her heavy gauntlet.

“Don’t be like that, you’ll succeed against young Edric! All you have to do is  _ believe _ .” Eda flicked the reins, causing the horse to start moving as she turned back to face Luz, who scoffed at her trainer.

“‘Believe’ my arse! I’ve been training for less than three months and he’s probably been doing this since he was a babe in arms!” Eda snorted, and spurred the horse to move faster.

“Yeah. You’re probably right.” She threw her hands in the air, and gestured wildly to the heavens.

“But it’s too late now! He challenged you and you accepted! You have to duel him, lest your honor,  _ and, more importantly, mine, _ be placed in jeopardy!” Luz groaned and adjusted her armor so that it was no longer pinching at her bound chest.

“ _ You _ accepted, Eda! I had no say!” Eda brought her hands down from the sky, and shrugged at her apprentice. Despite the visor covering her entire face, Luz could tell she was grinning.

“Look, how’s about this? If ye win the duel, I’ll start giving you an allowance. Is that motivation enough,  _ your highness? _ ” Luz rolled her eyes, but remained silent. It appeared that was answer enough for the knight, as she faced forwards, effectively ending their conversation.

The paupers toiled beneath the hooves of Eda’s horse and, as they rode by, multiple tried to win the knight’s sympathy without success.

Eda stopped the horse and a mob of beggars swarmed around them, blocking their path to the gate. Eda growled and sank into the saddle, hunching down as she placed a dangerous hand on the pommel of her sword.

“Move, ya fucking degenerates! I’ll kill the lot of you if you don’t!” Eda glared violently at the unwashed horde, but their only concession to her threat was to circle the horse at arm's length rather than pressed up against the beast.

Luz felt a small tugging on her armor, the chain of her chausses jingling as they were pulled to get her attention. She looked down to find a small child, his rosy red cheeks covered in dirt and grime and his clothing stained and torn in various places.

“Please mister, do you have any spare groschen? I haven’t eaten in  _ days _ , and-and-“ The child’s unnaturally deep voice broke into sobs as tears overflowed from his eyes and he stopped begging to collect himself.

Luz could  _ feel _ her heartstrings being played like a lute and she bit her lip as she tried to resist.

“Ed-Edgar?” The knight’s head snapped behind her to look at Luz.

“Yeah, kid?” Her voice was smooth as she watched the serfs who circled the horse warily.

“Can I start getting that allowance now?” Eda scoffed at Luz’s hopeful tone.

“Why? Don’t tell me you’re going to give charity to these wretches!”

“So what if I am?! Would you seriously rather get all these poor folk killed than give them a few alms?!” Eda growled in frustration at Luz and began unsheathing her sword.

“You remember what I said! You give a beggar a hand, they ask for the whole damn arm!” Luz grabbed the hilt of her teacher’s sword, pulling the blade back into its sheath.

“Give me the allowance, or I forfeit the match.” Eda went silent, and hope rose like a flame in Luz’s chest.

But as Luz dropped her guard, and began loosening the grip on Eda’s sword, the knight wrenched her hand away, and drew the blade as fast as lightning.

_ “No!”  _ Luz drew her sword as quickly as she could and brought it across the horse to block Edgar’s before it could come down on an unsuspecting beggar’s head.

“Damn it, kid!” Luz dismounted from Edgar’s horse with incredible speed and got into a stance as her mentor followed, causing the paupers to scatter into a larger circle around them.

“I challenge you to a duel! If I win, I get the allowance. If you win, I’ll listen to you and stop trying to help these poor people.” Edgar scoffed. He readied himself with a stance, parting his legs into a faux squat and holding his longsword before him.

“Deal.” Luz barely had time to react as he rushed forwards, bringing his sword down in a slash at Luz’s mid-section.

Luz raised her brand-new arming sword to block the strike. This was to be the blade’s maiden bloodletting, it seemed.

Edgar’s sword slid down the edge of Luz’s, becoming caught in the curved hilt. But he expected this and pulled back swiftly before Luz could twist her blade to trap his own. Edgar smiled grimly and stabbed forwards in a rush of speed and power. He would end this quickly.

It was a foolish and amateur mistake.

Luz side-stepped the lunge and deftly caught the blade in the handguard on her sword’s hilt. She moved the hand that held the hilt to the pommel of the arming sword and punched Edgar in the face, before grabbing the center of her blade.

Twisting the sword like a corkscrew, she wrenched Edgar’s longsword from his grasp, stepping on it as it was flung from the fight to become just another piece of inert metal.

Edgar barely reacted. He simply stepped forwards, raising his fists into an unarmed stance and lightly hopping from side to side.

He rushed inside Luz's range and she swung her blade at him. She feinted away as he reached out to grab the sword, instead kicking his knee out from under him. Edgar stumbled and she spun in a tight circle around him, bashing down at his helmeted head with her pommel.

Edgar growled and spun in time to catch Luz’s sword as it came down. He gripped the blade with his gauntlet, the metal protecting his fingers and palm as he tried to wrestle the arming sword away from Luz.

Luz pinned her right hand inside the sword’s handguard and used her left hand to grab the underside of Edgar’s helm, pulling it off in one swift motion.

Edgar’s crazed eyes were revealed to her as the helmet came off. His mail coif held his unruly hair back, but a few frizzled strands still fell onto his face, framing it in red.

“What is your problem with these people?! It’s just a few groschen!” Luz yelled at Edgar and he snarled before responding.

“‘A few grochen’?! A  _ few?! _ Tell that to my parents! They spent their entire  _ lives _ giving to these vagabonds, and how’d they repay them? By sucking their funds dry, and burning their manor to the ground when they couldn’t pay up!” Tears came to the knight’s eyes and she grimaced as her grip on the sword slowly lost its power.

“Ed-Edgar I didn’t know…” Eda let go of the sword, causing Luz to stumble backwards.

“No. It’s fine. I forfeit our duel.” She walked over to where her sword and helmet was left on the ground, picking the metal up once she stood over them.

Eda checked her reflection in the metal of her sword, holding the blade in her hands and the helmet under her arm. She grimaced at herself, before putting the hounskull on.

Eda walked over to where Luz stood, dumbfounded at her mentor’s confession and resignation, and pulled a pouch from her side, dropping it with a clink into Luz’s palm as she stretched it out.

“A thousand groschen. Do what you want with it, then we’re leaving.” Luz was at a loss for words as Eda mounted her horse, sheathing her sword as she did so.

Luz felt another tug on her armor, and when she turned, the kid stood there again.

“M-Mister? You won right, you-you can help us?” Luz got down on a knee, and flicked the visor on her helmet up to get a better look at the kid.

“Yeah… have this, kid.” Luz reached into her fresh pouch of silver, and pulled out ten groschen, dropping it into the kid’s outstretched hands.

“I-I… thank you so much, sir knight! I can live for a month on this!” The kid smiled widely, and ran away, disappearing into the rapidly closing crowd of serfs and paupers.

“Alright. Everyone gets ten silver, there should be enough for everyone.”

* * *

Tension hung heavy in the air as they continued their journey. The only sounds to break the hush that had fallen between them were the soft huff of breath and the gentle clatter of hooves on cobblestones. Even the usual din of the city seemed muted against their pointed silence.

The drawbridge to the castle was guarded by four men, each holding a large bardiche, the metal shining and the blade dangerous.

The guards eyed them warily as they passed over the drawbridge and into the courtyard, the castle looming darkly overhead.

Eda led the horse over to the stables and, as the two of them dismounted, she gave the reins to a stableboy. The lad nodded briskly at her, before nervously taking the horse further into the stables.

Luz followed her mentor closely as she stomped up the wooden stairs and into the castle proper. She pushed a thick wooden door open and Luz nearly fainted from shock once she saw the castle interior.

The thick stone walls were painted a beautiful cream color and murals lined the corners and empty walls. The hallway in which they entered had banners hanging from the walls and a garderobe at the end of the hall, which had a curtain to protect the privacy of its occupants.

Eda didn't stop to admire the decor however, and Luz was forced to rush to keep up as she made a beeline for an ornate metal door. Standing at attention beside the door was a large man in fancy engraved armor with a billowing purple and red cloak. Luz followed the line of his polearm to the ceiling where she spied dents and scratches from the pike's keen blade.

“Sorry sirs, but you may not enter the banquet hall at this moment. The good and well honored Blights are currently having their morning meal.” Eda scoffed and made to push forwards, only to be blocked by the guard’s pike.

“I  _ said _ you may not enter. Please refrain from making me hurt you.” Eda snorted at the guard, who narrowed his eyes at the knight.

“I’m sorry, lad. But the Blights have requested our presence, as young Edric Blight has challenged my son to a duel. You may know us as Sir Edgar and Sir Luther of House Clawthorne?” The guard grimaced and raised the pike to let them through.

“Okay. But I must warn you, please try to not upset Lord Blight. I don’t want to have to drag any more people to the gallows.” Eda waved a dismissive hand at the guard.

“Pah, we’ll be fine! Go back to standing around and looking pretty, I can handle the baron quite fine enough.” The guard shrugged and returned to his post.

“It’s your neck on the line, not mine.” Eda snorted and began pushing the large door open.

“Yeah, okay, Achatius.” The guard did a double take, opening his mouth to speak, but Eda had already brushed past him to enter the banquet hall.

The guard looked at Luz in bewilderment, but she simply shrugged and followed her mentor into the room.

“Ah! Young Luther and Sir Edgar! Welcome!”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long! But next chapter should be out soon!

The room was immense and imposing with a large, ornate fireplace sat dormant in the corner. The walls were lined with large, intricate murals and banners, displaying various scenes of serenity.

A large feasting table stood in the center of the room, covered with expensive meats, cheese, and soups. At the table sat the Baron and his family, who had stopped their meal to properly greet Luz and Eda as they came through the door.

Lord and Lady Blight sat in chairs near the center, both flanked by empty seats, which were in turn flanked by Emira Blight, who sat on her mother’s side and Edric Blight, who sat on his father’s side. Beside Emira sat a very miffed looking Amity Blight, whose pinked expression and messy hair drew Luz’s gaze.

“Take a seat, my friends! I’m sure you’re famished this fine morning, so go ahead and take some food!” Lord Blight smiled at them from his end of the feast table, and gestured to the guest chair on his right.

“Don’t mind if I do!” Eda sauntered up to the chair beside Lord Blight and plopped herself into it, causing Emira to shoot a disdainful look at her across the table and Lady Blight to send a vicious glare at her recalcitrant child.

Amity snickered quietly at her sister, who rolled her eyes before glaring at her.

“Come, boy! Don’t be shy! Take a seat beside my lovely wife, she doesn’t bite!” Luz tore her eyes away from the young Lady Amity to look at Lady Blight.

She had to disagree with her lord on the biting, the prestigious woman looked ready to tear someone’s face off, and the way her son - who looked like a male copy of her - was shredding his duck leg didn’t help. Lady Blight simply patted the seat beside her, inviting Luz to sit, all the while wearing a terrifying expression set like it was molded with all the malicious intent of a demon fresh from hell.

Luz gulped and cautiously sat next to Lady Blight and, while her expression was terrifying, Luz could agree with her lord on his other statement. Lady Blight was  _ beautiful _ . All three of her children took after her stunning looks it seemed, as each of them were gorgeous. Even Edric, now that Luz could get a good look at him, despite the fact that he was currently trying to see how many legs of duck he could fit down his gullet, much to the delight of Eda, and the chagrin of his father.

His chiseled jawline, which he got from his mother surprisingly enough, was an immediate draw for Luz, - the meat juices dripping down it, however, were a turn off - and looking at each of the Blight children, she could safely say that all of them inherited the feature.

All of them had high cheekbones, but Emira’s were accompanied with rounder cheeks, unlike Amity, whose cheeks matched her thin frame, and Edric, who was a middle ground between them, matching his mother’s features.

Lady Blight looked down at Luz and her height was staggering, dwarfing most men. In fact, she was even taller than Eda, who was the tallest person Luz had known up to that point. She had to be at least six foot, possibly taller.

“Are you going to take that helmet off and eat, dear?” Lady Blight’s voice was as pompous as she looked, and her tone was completely indecipherable.

Luz had forgotten she was still wearing her helm, and she noticed then, how the plate rested heavily on her skull and how the visor obscured the edges of her vision. The slits covering the center of her sight were a barely noticeable line of black.

Luz remained quiet as she flipped her visor up, scared that her shaky voice might betray her. But a thought struck her as she did so.

_ What if they recognized her? _

The thought of what might happen to her, to Eda, possibly even to her mother, if she were found out crossed her mind. She would surely be burned at the stake, and the same fate awaited Eda too, if she were discovered. Her mother had a chance of escape, but it was a slim chance.

Given the disposition Lord Blight had towards the lower class, the absolute best case scenario was that she would be locked in the rathaus’ dungeon, worst case… would be the same as her and Eda.

She would give all her thanks to God however, because when her visor came to its resting position, revealing her slightly sweaty face and considerably shortened hair, no one batted an eyelid.

Luz relaxed slightly and made to grab some of the food off the communal platter on the center of the large table.

Only to stop, realizing that Eda hadn’t taught her dining etiquette yet.

As her hand paused, halfway reached out to the platter, Lady Blight scoffed and heaped a large portion of the breakfast feast onto a nearby plate, handing it to a shocked Luz.

“Come, boy! Don’t be afraid of us, we’re hardly going to  _ poison _ you!” Luz snickered, and grabbed one of the duck legs that sat before her.

Luz had never had any meat other than dried or fish her entire life, so when she picked up the plump duck leg, glistening with juices, and a perfect light golden brown, it was a little daunting.

But she swallowed her nerves, just like she was about to the duck.

And when she took the first bite, heaven exploded into her mouth.

The delicate poultry fell away in her mouth, and she understood now why Edric’s chin was covered in juices, as hers did the same with just one bite. The sweetness of the inside of the leg contrasted beautifully with the savory outside, and Luz moaned in delight as she tore into the meat.

“By the Lord, Luther. When was the last time you ate?!” Edric called across the table with amusement, causing Luz to look up from her ravenous feasting, the duck leg completely barren, and juices dripping off her chin.

“Uh… two days ago?” Eda winced and the appalled looks on the Blights’ faces caused Luz to sink into her seat.

Lady Blight crossed herself, “God in Heavens above, boy! Eat!” She piled more food onto her platter, the mountain growing comically larger, and the emptiness in Luz’s stomach growing by the second as she watched the meal grow larger.

“Sir Edgar, I do believe you haven’t been feeding this poor boy!” Eda winced again, and shifted awkwardly in her seat, pursing her lips as the Blights stared daggers at her.

“I-well… I  _ have, _ he just doesn’t eat!” A lie, but the truth would’ve been much worse for all of them.

“Bah! I just think your cooking is horrid, as usual! The boy would rather starve than eat that horse shit, isn’t that right?!” Luz nodded vigorously as she bit into another duck leg.

* * *

  
  


The meal continued for another agonizing hour of tedious small talk. Once the mountains of food had disappeared and servants appeared, seemingly from nowhere, to clean the table, the ladies of the family bid them adieu. As soon as the door swung shut, Lord Blight narrowed his eyes at the two young men standing before him and began recounting the rules of the duel.

“Rule one! Don’t kill each other, for God’s sake! There’s honor in surrendering, despite what  _ some _ may believe! This isn’t a fight to the death.” Edric smirked at Luz, making her roll her eyes and Lord Blight cleared his throat to regain their attention.

“Rule two! Obey the Knight’s Code of Chivalry! I shouldn’t have to explain this, but I’m just putting it out there!” Luz froze for a moment; Eda had never taught her the Knight’s Code, but she hoped it was simple.

“That should be it! The grooms will be here shortly with the armor!” Lord Blight spun on his boot’s intricately designed heel, and began walking away.

“Wait, so we provide our own weapon?!” Lord Blight scoffed and looked at her from over his shoulder as he continued walking away.

“Of course! Have you never been in a duel before?!” Luz shrugged, causing Lord Blight to shake his head before he rounded the corner, leaving the dining hall.

“So…” Luz looked up at Edric as he spoke, raising an eyebrow.

“Ready to lose, Clawthorne?” Luz snorted and leaned back on the long dining table, which was still being cleaned by the maids.

“Pfft, in your dreams, Blight.” Edric chuckled and slapped a maid’s ass as she walked past, causing her to gasp in offense and rush off.

“Leave the poor girls alone, Edric. It’s bad enough they have to clean up your mess, you don’t have to harass them.” Edric scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Whatever.” Luz narrowed her eyes at the noble, but before she could deepen the argument, the door was pushed open by a sheepish groom.

“Uh… Sir Luther? Lord Edric? I have your armor for you…” Edric laughed heartily and pushed away from the table to grab a large sack from the groom’s shaking hands. It jangled loudly as he threw it over his shoulder and left the room.

Luz took the bag from the nervous groom, it wasn’t as heavy as the armor she was currently wearing, but it was at least half the weight.

“Thank you.” The groom’s eyes lit up, and he beamed at her.

“You’re welcome, sir!” The young groom rushed off and Luz turned to the maids cleaning the table.

“Is there a room I could change in?” The eldest maid looked up from the table, her graying hair bounced stiffly as she pointed to a door on the opposite side of the hall.

“Through that door, take a right, take a left, then it will be the third door from the right.” Luz nodded gratefully, and hung the sack over her shoulder as she slowly walked through the door and deeper into the keep.

Luz passed a couple of maids and guards as she followed the old woman’s directions, finally coming to a stop before a less ornate wooden door.

She pushed the door open, revealing a small bathroom with a wooden trough sat in the center, slightly embedded into the stonework. It was filled with crystal clear water, and  _ steam _ rose from the surface.

Luz shut the door behind her, and her amazement only grew as she dragged her fingers through the water, finding it as hot as it looked.

She excitedly tore armor off her, the straps quickly coming undone as she tossed the plate to the floor with a loud clang. Once her armor was off, Luz slid her thin tunic off her sweaty body and onto the floor, her hose quickly joining it.

Soon she was left with nothing but her bindings, which were dirty and soaked in sweat. She hadn’t taken them off in a few days, and the stench was almost overpowering as she slowly unbound her chest, giving herself more room to breathe.

Luz rubbed her chest as the last of the bindings came off, a dull throb stabbed her every few seconds as she brought feeling back to her chest. A few pops crackled out of her joints as she stretched, before shaking off all the tension.

Luz felt incredible as she sank into the hot water of the bath, her muscles relaxing completely as she slid down, bringing her head down to the water.

After a while of simply resting in the heat of the water, Luz reached down the side of the trough, grabbing a small rag that sat there. Using the rag, Luz massaged the dirt and tension out of her muscles, sighing as she somehow relaxed even further into the bath.

But all good things had to come to an end, as she had a duel to attend. Luz stood in the trough, causing water to cascade off her form and drip into the bath and onto the stone as she stepped out.

A fluffy woolen towel sat on a bench lining the side of the room, Luz picked it up and scrubbed the water off herself, drying her hair as she picked up her hose and tunic with her feet, tossing them into the water as she finished drying herself.

Once her hose and tunic were soaked in the water, she began running them through the hot water, squeezing the dirt and sweat out as she did so. Unfortunately, it seemed there were no cloth cleaning supplies in the room, but she could make do.

Once she felt the clothes were clean enough, Luz pulled the tunic out and began beating it with a cloth baton, which sat in the drawer Luz had expected to hold the cleaners.

Water splattered out of the cloth as she beat it, running a slight brown and leaving the tunic closer to its original color. She did the same to her hose, with similar results, the slightly blackened cloth returning to its original brown.

Luz lit the fire in the corner of the bathroom and placed her clothes to dry in front of it. Meanwhile, she would unfortunately have to stand there naked and hope no one barged in. She couldn’t remember if she placed the flag on the door, indicating that the room was occupied.

Thankfully, no one intruded on her, and she was able to dry her clothes almost fully.

But just to her luck, as she was putting on her hose, the door slid open.

  
_ “Don’t come in!” _ But it was too late, as the door swung open, revealing a stunned Willow Park, her eyes locked onto Luz’s chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luz doesn't use proper binding! Make sure you do, my trans friends!
> 
> http://point5cc.com/binding-101-tips-to-bind-your-chest-safely/
> 
> ^This is a resource on how to properly bind your chest! Make sure to always follow the golden rules!^


	8. Chapter 8

“Shit.” Willow was slack-jawed and tears sprang to Luz’s eyes as she frantically covered her chest.

“I… you…  _ what?!” _ Willow pushed her way into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her quickly.

“ _ Please _ don’t tell anyone!” Willow seemed to not hear her, as she took fistfuls of her hair and began pacing the room.

“How?! Why?! Better yet, who?! Who are you?! Who are you,  _ really?! _ Are you Sir Edgar’s daughter?! What the fuck is going on here?!” Luz winced and sank in on herself as Willow continued ranting.

“ _ Please, please, please _ don’t tell anyone!” Willow stopped, finally seeming to hear her, breaking out of whatever trance the revelation had her in.

“I…” she growled and pressed the tips of her fingers to her temples. “I won’t tell a soul. I swear it on my name as a good Christian, but I’m going to need you to explain  _ everything. _ ” Luz’s knees wobbled, and she nearly fell over in relief.

“Okay. I promise to tell you everything,  _ later.  _ I have a duel with Edric Blight here soon. Meet me in this bathroom around dusk.” Willow nodded and, with another passing glance at her chest and a slight blush on her face, she left the room.

Luz breathed a sigh of relief and sank to the floor, tunic in hand.

After a moment of revelry in escaping her near death experience, Luz stood shakily and began digging through the drawers in the room for a fresh set of bandages to wrap her chest. Once she found some, which were incredibly soft compared to her older ones, she coiled it tightly and painfully around herself, threw her tunic on, and began quickly latching the armor from the groom’s sack to her body.

There were many less pieces of plate, most of it being hardened leather, or studded. There also wasn’t a helmet, much to Luz’s chagrin.

It was a much lighter set-up, which allowed for Luz to move around much easier - an upside, she guessed - but she preferred the higher level of protection provided by her old plate.

By either fate or coincidence, near the moment she had latched the brigandine - the final piece of her armor set - to herself, a maid knocked lightly on the door, before opening it.

“Sir Luther, Lord Edric requests your presence in the courtyard for the duel.” Luz stretched, popping her back as she did so and causing a light flush of red to flash across the young maiden’s face.

“Tell him I’ll be down shortly.” Luz continued her stretches, as she didn’t want to hurt herself moving.

“U-uh, I’ll make sure to tell him!” Luz smirked to herself quietly as, after one last desperate look of yearning at the leather-clad knight, the maid ran off. Smoothly, she finished her stretches and strapped her arming sword to her belt from where it had laid in her pile of armor.

Luz rushed out of the bathroom once she was ready, passing Emira Blight in the hall on her way out.

She squinted her eyes at Luz as she passed, but shrugged without a word and continued walking to her destination.

Two guards bowed to her as she passed, opening the door that led to the ramparts. She nodded at them in response, before dashing through the doorway and onto the wooden ramparts, her boots thumping menacingly as she thundered down the steps and into the cobbled courtyard.

“Ah! The man of the hour hath arrived! I welcome thee, Sir Luther!” Edric called out to her as she appeared, bowing to her as she ran up, though she couldn’t discern whether it was mocking or not.

“Thank you, Edric! Are we going to get this duel started, or not?” Edric laughed and laid a hand on her plated shoulder.

“Not just yet, my friend! We have to wait for the rest of our  _ audience!” _ Edric threw his arms in the air, gesturing to the large area around the wooden ring she assumed they were to duel in, where a few townsfolk were already shuffling in to watch.

“Ah, so this is to be an exhibition?” Edric laughed again and tutted at her.

“Oh my dear friend,  _ everything's an _ exhibition! Where’s the fun in a fight, if the whole town isn’t there to watch you win, hm?!” Luz shrugged and hopped the sturdy wooden fence into the muddied ring; the cobble didn’t extend into the area, only covering the rest of the courtyard.

Edric soon followed her into the ring, gesturing a finger in the air, causing a man with a silken blue hat to shuffle out of the barracks and up to a small podium sat near the northern edge of the ring.

“My good folk! We are gathered here today to witness an honorable duel between our very own, the Honorable Lord Edric Blight, and a newcomer to our great town, Sir Luther of House Clawthorne!” Murmurs spread like a wave through the slowly growing crowd, whispers of rumors about House Clawthorne, exclamations of how they never knew Sir Edgar had a son, and many more.

Up in the ramparts, the Blights gathered. Lord Blight hung over the railing, his arms crossed on the banister, setting an inquisitive look on the pair. Lady Blight stood behind her husband, her arms crossed over her chest, and a dark expression on her face.

Emira Blight leaned against the wall as though she were bored, but she gave small glances over at the ring occasionally. Amity had a confused look on her face as she stared intently at Luz, causing sweat to form on the knight’s back as her nerves grew.

“The duel will consist of the Honorable Lord Edric’s masterfully designed hunting sabre, versus Sir Luther Clawthorne’s honorable knightly sword! The bout will afford  _ bountiful _ entertainment! Do make sure to sign up for the Swanlou Tourney if you are interested! All are welcome, even those of  _ lower _ standing! Fee is eighty groschen!” The announcer bowed first to Luz and Edric, then the Blights up in the ramparts, and then the crowd, before stepping down from the podium and returning to the barracks.

Lord Blight called loudly from the ramparts, “Begin!”

Luz drew her arming sword and quickly entered an inside stance; she didn’t know how Edric fought, so she would have to stay on the defensive. Her sword hilt was held out to the side, bringing the blade over her center to block most strikes.

Edric rose his arms to the crowd, riling their cheers as he drew his sabre with flair, twirling it with his wrist.

Luz rolled her eyes and began stepping forwards, cautiously approaching the confident lord.

Edric stopped twirling his blade and put it in a resting position on his right shoulder, poised to strike with maximum force, speed, and control.

Edric rushed in quickly, bringing his blade down in an arc to strike her, garnering deafening cheers from the crowd as he flashed a smile. Luz waited and then sidestepped his lunge, causing him to skid into the dirt and mud.

The crowd fell completely silent, and Luz rose an unimpressed brow at the flashy, failed move. Edric scrambled to his feet, mud dripping off his armor and covering the bottom left side of his face.

He spat into the dirt and returned to his original stance, advancing slowly this time.

Luz pushed the tip of her sword out in a long guard, keeping Edric at bay as he attempted to continue his advance.

Edric growled and swung his sabre down to knock her sword out of the way.

The long guard was a ruse, and Edric fell for it, as Luz’s sword fell away from the swing, and she rushed in, closing the gap and striking Edric’s face with her pommel.

The noble stumbled backwards, clutching his nose, which was bleeding profusely.

“Agh, you fucker! What the hell?!” Edric glared at her with fire in his eyes, amusement flickered through Luz’s mind, causing her to smile at the foolish man.

“You’re an amateur, Blight!” 

Edric snarled at her and lunged, bringing his sword down in another forceful arc, which Luz easily led to the side with the flat of her sword.

“I thought you would be a challenge, but it turns out I was wrong!  _ Very _ wrong.” Luz called out to the crowd around them.

The crowd murmured quietly as Luz easily deflected or sidestepped Edric’s strikes, her only attacks being small slashes into his armor or skin, causing small cuts to cover his exposed skin, a light dripping of blood mixing with the mud.

“Give up! You cannot defeat me, Edric!” 

Edric roared at her and stepped directly into her guard, forcing them into a clinch, which Luz had expected.

Luz slid her sword down his sabre’s blade, catching the two at their guards, which Luz then twisted with a flick of her wrist, wrenching his sword from his grip and cork-screwing into the air.

The blade landed at their feet and before Edric could reach for it, Luz pressed her foot on top of it and slid it across the ring, leaving the noble completely unarmed.

Edric threw a punch at her, which Luz easily ducked, causing him to stumble forwards. Luz used this to her advantage and pushed his back lightly, causing the noble to fall face first into the mud.

As Edric rose to his feet, Luz humored the poor man, tossing her sword away to leave both of them unarmed. Luz dropped easily into a fighter’s stance, while she waited patiently for the noble to rise. She raised her arms to mirror what she had seen Eda do, closed fists held protectively in front of her face and elbows tucked in close to her sides.

Edric finally stood, breathing heavily, with mud slopping off his face in thick rivers of dirt and blood.

  
  


Edric rushed in as fast as he could, which Luz used against him as she jabbed him in his mouth, allowing his momentum to add further sting to the blow. He stumbled backwards, blood pouring down his chin.

Edric recovered slowly and levelled her with a glare. He spat on to the palm of his hand and looked down in disbelief at the bloody tooth there. Panting hard, he stepped forwards laboriously and threw a wild punch at Luz’s head, which she caught on her forearm.

Luz smirked at the poorly trained noble and tossed his arm to the side, opening his stance even more than it already was.

Using the large opening, Luz rushed forwards, using her weight and the momentum from her lunge to punch Edric in his gut as hard as she could, causing him to double over and gag for air.

She caught Edric with her left hand, gripping the space between his brigandine and his body, and she lifted him to face her.

“Surrender.” 

Edric spat blood into her face, the disgusting globule landing on her cheek. “N-never.” 

She wiped the blood from her face and smeared it on his brigandine.

“Don’t say I never gave you a chance.” Luz swung her fist as hard as she could, striking the noble in the side of his head and knocking him out cold.

Luz threw Edric’s limp arm over her shoulder, grunting with the effort as she held him steady against her, and turned to look up at the ramparts.

Emira was grinning madly at her and cheering in a most unseemly fashion, having moved from the wall to lean over the banister. Lord Blight simply gawked at the scene before him, disbelief evident on his wrinkled face.

Lady Blight had the same look as before, utterly inscrutable.

Amity squinted at Luz’s face and followed slowly as the rest of her family made their way down to the courtyard, flanked by five guards on each side.

Luz clumsily gathered her and Edric’s swords, slipping hers into her scabbard, and Edric’s into his, albeit with more difficulty.

Luz opened the gate to the ring and stepped through, the crowd parting in her wake as she carried the unconscious noble to where his family awaited, shock evident on Lord Blight’s face.

“W-well done, Sir Luther! I… uh, I’ll take that off of you…” Lord Blight stepped up to her, and took Edric off her shoulder, throwing him over his.

“You’ve earned that horse, boy. The grooms will bring her over soon.” Lord Blight then began muttering under his breath to his wife as the two of them took Edric inside the castle, Emira and Amity, however, stayed behind.

“I’d say well fucking done on putting my brother in his place!” Emira was loud as she gripped Luz’s shoulder, Amity following behind as she led the two of them up the ramparts and away from the prying eyes of the public.

“Oh, it was nothing.  _ Really. _ ” 

Emira snorted and clapped her on the back. “I’d get to know you better, Sir Luther, but sadly my duties call, so I must be away!”  Lady Emira quickly bid her sister and the knight adieu, darting away from them with light dancing steps and casting a flirtatious look over her shoulder at the young man. Luz was to receive no respite however, as no sooner had Emira departed than Amity quickly crowded into Luz's space, intently scanning her face from chin to hair.

**_“You.”_ **


	9. Chapter 9

Luz gulped as the noblewoman grabbed her wrist in a death grip and began pulling her away.

“I-uh… me?” Amity shot her an indecipherable look and began dragging her even harder.

Luz stumbled along behind the terrifying, yet  _ hot _ , Amity Blight, passing an amused Emira in the hall as she was dragged.

“Woo! Go get some, Mittens!” Emira catcalled after them as they passed, causing Amity to blush profusely, but she only dragged Luz faster down the hall, until they finally came before an ornate wooden door, etched with various engravings that Luz didn’t understand, as, well… she couldn’t read.

The door was braced with bright and shining metal that clanged loudly once Amity threw the door open and dragged Luz inside, tossing her to the large, elaborate bed, before shutting the door behind her, much to the amusement of the guards and Emira who were still watching.

“Lady Amity… a pleasure to meet you?” Luz knew the jig was up, but she tried to play dumb nonetheless, maybe it would work?

“Don’t play dumb with me, Luther! Or should I call you Luz? Luz Noceda! The fucking peasant who came in and tempted me to the side of the Devil!” Luz was taken aback, she gaped like a fish at the distressed noblewoman, her hair, which had quickly become disheveled in the wake of her outburst, only making her even more beautiful, but in a scary way.

“I didn’t tempt you! You tempted me!” Amity gasped in offense and rushed forwards, rage filling her gorgeous features, and she used her entire body weight - which wasn’t much - to push Luz backwards onto the mattress.

_ “Temptress!” _ They spoke at the same time, yelling in each other’s faces as fire filled their eyes.

But now it was a  _ different _ kind of fire.

Luz rushed upwards, planting her lips against Amity’s in a tempestuous display of passion.  The noblewoman's eyes widened in surprise before fluttering shut as she threw herself into the kiss with wanton abandon. As they each leaned into the kiss, feverish hands ran over each other's bodies. Amity began fumbling with the straps to Luz's armor and Luz tensed slightly, realizing what they were about to do.

Luz’s brigandine came flying off, dropping to the stone floor with a loud clatter, and was quickly followed by a series of bangs and clangs as the rest of her outfit came off, desperation evident in Amity’s every action.

Sparks flew everywhere Amity touched her, and fire danced under her skin with each waking moment, but still, an ice cold lump settled in her stomach.

_ It didn’t feel right. _

Amity looked up from Luz’s midsection, where she had been lifting the chainmail. It seemed she had spoken her thoughts aloud, causing Amity to freeze in place, a blush darkening across her features.

“I… you’re right, Luz. I-I’m sorry, I-I was just…” 

Luz shushed her with a calloused finger and a giggle.

“It’s okay, I started it.” Luz felt her cheeks burning, most likely radiating a bright red as she stood from the bed, causing Amity to back up. “Let’s just start over. From the beginning.” 

Amity nodded fervently, her cheeks glowing about as much as Luz figured hers were.

Luz inclined her head slightly in a courtly bow, which made them an almost equal height. With a flourish, she held out her hand in open invitation.“Good morrow, fair madam.” 

Amity giggled, but slipped her hand in Luz’s proffered one.. “Good morning, lady knight, what business have ye with me?” Amity smirked as she affected a posh accent, her voice closely resembling that of her mother’s.

“I am Luz of the House Noceda, and I wish to court thee, if ye would have me?” Amity seemed to think about the question for a moment.

“Hm, and should I say no?” The small smile threatening to take Amity’s face gave Luz solace that she was not truly considering the idea.

“ Then your fine suitor's heart would be broken, cast 'neath your feet . Dying of heartbreak is quite an unpleasant way to go, I’d have you know.” Luz feigned a faint, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead as she leaned backwards, her eyes closed.

“Well then, it’s settled. I must allow you to court me, lest there be any fair maidens dead in the streets, for who might want that?” Luz smiled brightly at Amity, causing the noblewoman to snort, before falling back onto the bed in a fit of giggles.

Luz soon followed suit and the room was filled with the sound of their high-pitched giggling as they laid beside each other on the massive bed.

“Dear God, how are we gonna do this?” Amity asked into the air, causing Luz to grow silent.

“Damned if I know. I never thought I’d get this far!” Amity chuckled lowly, but her chuckling slowly fell into sobs as her body began to shake profusely.

Luz didn’t dare move a muscle.

“This is all so fucking  _ fucked! _ Why? Why couldn’t I just like men?! Why, oh dear God in Heaven above, did you put me in cohorts with the Devil?” Luz let her rant continue for a few moments.

“Why don’t we just forget about the church, about God, and the demons we may or may not be in league with, hm? If some asshole in the sky wants to tell us who we are allowed to fuck, that’s  _ his _ problem. He can go fuck himself for all I care.” 

Amity giggled slightly at Luz, wiping her tears and sniffling up some of her breakdown. “Quite the blasphemer you are, dare I say!” 

Luz broke her paralysis, and shuffled closer to the vulnerable noblewoman to lay her head on her shoulder. “Maybe. Maybe. But I’m right, aren’t I?” 

Amity snorted, but didn’t move. “Perhaps.” 

Luz smirked and turned her head to look at Amity, her silken hair sprawled across the bed, and her face and eyes reddened from her tears.

She was still the prettiest thing Luz had ever dared to lay her eyes on.

“In the words of my mentor,  _ fuck _ the church.” 

Amity giggled and turned her head to look at Luz as well. “I’d rather not, the men there are quite unfavorable after all.” 

Luz threw her palm against her forehead, and fell back laughing. “You are quite the jester, my fair maiden!” 

Amity raised an eyebrow at her, smiling wider. “Oh? Am I yours now?” 

Luz shrugged and threw an arm behind Amity’s head, pulling her closer.

“Of course you are! If…  _ if that’s alright with you? _ ” 

Amity giggled and pulled away from her. “Okay, one? You stink, go get yourself washed, heathen. Second? Yeah… yeah, I think that’s fine with me. But you are mine too! Don’t you forget it!” 

Luz laughed quietly and brought her arms up to lay her head on them, causing the noblewoman to pinch her nose with delicate fingers.

“Seriously! Go take a bath! Your stench offends my existence.”

“My ‘stench’ didn’t seem like a problem when you were trying to remove my decency!” 

Amity scoffed and turned away, crossing her arms, a clear blush radiating over her white skin. “Just go clean yourself in the guest washroom.”

“But it’s such a  _ long _ walk.” 

Amity sighed and pointed at a bell in the corner of her room. “Go ring that bell, and servants will bring us my bathing trough.” 

Luz sighed dramatically and fell back onto the incredibly soft bed. “Ugh, your loss for ridding the world of my womanly stench.” 

Amity scoffed and got up to ring the bell exasperatedly. “Shut up and take the bath when the servants get here. Your ‘womanly stench’ is making my orifices burn.” She rang the bell loudly, causing a servant to pop his head through the door.

“Yes, Lady Amity?” Amity straightened herself and turned to face the young man.

“Bring us my bathing trough and the good soap.” The servant looked confused for a moment.

“My lady, what do you mean by us… oh.” The servant finally noticed Luz laying in the bed, still sweaty from the duel and her clothes half off.

The servant blushed and stuttered for a moment. “O-oh! Yes my lady, we will bring your bath soon.”

“Thank you, Fredrick. Tell your mother I wish her good tidings and to get well soon.” The servant nodded and left quickly, his blush only growing.

“You know he probably thought we were-“

“Yes, I know, Luz. You are so  _ crass  _ sometimes, you know that?!” Amity turned a slightly offended look on Luz, but she only shrugged.

“Eh, I guess it comes from growing up as a peasant under the plate-toed boot of your father.” 

Amity sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “You are  _ insufferable! _ Why did I agree to let you court me?” 

Luz shrugged again. “Because you love women and I’m the only woman here who likes women too?” 

A flicker of sadness lingered on Amity's face and she turned her gaze elsewhere. “I guess…” 

Luz sighed and stood from the bed, making her way over to the noblewoman. She reached her hand out and Amity flinched away, causing her to pull back.

“I’m sorry, I-I’m really bad at this.” 

Amity huffed and turned to look at the wall. “I’ll say.” 

Luz pinned her arms to her sides, shifting from her toes to the ball of her foot. She opened and closed her mouth several times as she considered what to say.

A knock on the door broke the uncomfortable silence and Luz went to open it.

“Sir Luther, Lady Amity. We’ve brought your bath.” Luz stepped back as a dozen servants stepped into the room, four carrying a large bathing trough, the rest with various cleaning supplies.

The two carrying the trough sat it down in a circular indent in the stone floor, near the window. The rest of the servants began laying out various woolen towels and rags, as well as a couple of bars of gray-green, soap.

Two older women began gathering the armor that Lord Blight provided, placing her armor set on the bed, freshly washed. A maid came rushing in and placed a silk pair of red miparti hose and a delicate blue tunic on the bed beside her armor.

A final two girls, young and small, dragged large pots of steaming water into the room, which the rest of the servants helped them lift and pour into the trough, filling it near the brim.

The servants congregated in a line and bowed simultaneously to the pair, before shuffling out the door, the last one closing it behind her.

“Huh… that was… interesting?” 

Amity snorted and began feeling the water. “What? Never seen bathmaids before?” 

Luz scoffed and began doffing her remaining armor, setting it carefully next to her actual set. “I’ve been to the bathhouses before, but I’ve never had the  _ royal _ treatment.” 

Amity chuckled and pulled her hand out of the trough. “This is  _ far _ from the royal treatment. If we were royals, we’d have servants in here begging to wipe our arses.” 

Luz giggled and pulled her tunic over her head. “That sounds awful.” 

Amity hummed in agreement and hopped onto her bed. “Does that… hurt?” Luz looked up as she removed her dirty tunic, Amity was pointing at the bandages wrapped tightly around her chest, constricting it.

“Oh… it did? But you get used to it and it really only hurts when you take it off.” 

Amity pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. “That doesn’t seem very fun.” 

Luz chuckled lowly and began unwrapping the bindings. “Well, I don’t do it for fun. I do it so I don’t get burned at the stake. If I didn’t have to, I wouldn’t, trust me on that.” 

Amity nodded with a slight blush crossing her features as she flopped back on her bed. Luz finished undressing, stepping into the hot bath the servants had run for her. “That soap is made from olive oil, so only use what you have to.” 

Luz’s eyes widened as she picked up the bar of soap. “ _ Olive oil?! _ Damn, you must have mountains of silver!” 

Amity rose her head to stare at Luz as she began washing sparingly with the expensive soap. “We  _ are _ the biggest family in Werle. Having wealth comes with the title.” 

Luz shrugged and relaxed into the steaming hot water. “But do  _ actually _ clean yourself, please? Just don’t eat the soap, or whatever peasants do with the bars.” 

Luz gasped at her, causing the Blight to chuckle. “I take offense to that!” 

Amity snorted and waved a hand at her dismissively. “So? It’s true, is it not?” 

Luz scoffed and returned to washing. “No! We do not  _ eat _ soap!”

“Could’ve fooled me.” 

Luz gasped at her in offense again, this time standing fully out of the trough, causing Amity to blush radiantly. “You are so rude!” Luz reached down into the trough and pulled a dripping handful of water to toss at the Blight.

“Oh you bitch!” Amity screeched as the water landed on her, soaking her dress.

“You’re going to pay for that in kind!” The noblewoman tossed off her dress, leaving her in just her undertunic. She began rolling up her sleeves as she stomped over to Luz, who smugly sank back in the warm water.

“I am going to throttle you!” To prove her point, Amity reached into the water to grab Luz, who easily slipped out of the way in the large trough, causing her to let out a frustrated growl.

“You are so childish! Come here!” 

Luz kept slipping out of Amity’s grasp, flicking water up at her as she did so, completely soaking the undergarment in water, though Amity didn’t seem to notice through her rage.

“Says the one trying to kill me!” 

Amity scoffed and lunged for her, this time falling completely into the trough, making Luz cackle with glee.

Amity rose from the water, dripping wet and seething. “It’s your fault for antagonizing me!”

“It’s just a little fun!” 

Amity huffed and turned away from her, crossing her arms over her chest.

“You got me all wet…” She murmured under her breath, her cheeks red from her exertion in attempting to capture the slippery squire.

“Like in which way?” 

Amity blanched at her and slapped her on the shoulder. “As in the water, you perverted dolt!” 

Luz placed a hand over her heart and sank into the water. “Agh, you wound me!” 

Amity scoffed at Luz, but chuckled as she completely turned around in the bath.

“Well, look at you now, you’re  _ completely _ soaked!”

“It’s your fault, you insufferable peasant!” 

Luz scoffed this time and leaned back against the side of the trough, the bubbles of the soap clouding the water. “How in the world is it my fault? You’re the one who lunged at me. You caused yourself to fall, not me.” 

Amity growled at her and brought her knees to her chest, all of her clothing was soaked and clinging to her form at this point, but she made no effort to remove it.

“Relax… let yourself have some fun every once in a while.” 

Amity sighed and began stepping out of the water.

“Hey… where are you going?” 

Amity paused and tensed for a moment, but turned to look at her with an odd expression. “I am  _ going _ to change and get some maids in here to clean up this mess you made.  _ Then _ you are going to get out of my sight and we will  _ never _ speak of this again, you hear me? We are going to act as if neither of us know each other.” 

Luz didn’t have the words to object, they refused to come to her shocked mind.

So instead she sank deeper into the water and stared up at the stone ceiling.

  
_ “Okay…” _ And she tried her hardest to keep the tears from pouring down her face and into the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might've noticed, this chapter was pretty spicy! I debated changing the rating to M from T, as there will be more scenes like early this chapter, and more scenes with violence.
> 
> But I couldn't decide, so I'm asking you! Yes you! The reader, if I should change from T to M!

**Author's Note:**

> Betad by the wonderful RainbowBuddy!


End file.
